Time Heals All Wounds
by baseballfan44
Summary: For all angst lovers! What happens when Bo gets a girl pregnant, but she dies during the birth? Can Luke and the rest of the Dukes help him through it so he can raise the baby to be a good person? PLEASE R & R I worked hard!
1. Happy Days

**Time Will Heal All Wounds**

Summary: This is a little more angsty than my normal ones, and it's different. It's a Bo story, and believe me, it's gonna be a sad one! Well, it starts out kinda happy, but other than that . . . anyways, Bo gets a girl pregnant by accident, but what happens when she dies during the birth? Bo's gonna be stuck with this baby! Can the rest of the Dukes help him through it? Have fun reading, hope ya like it, and review at the end or else I shall kill you, or at least never update.

And thanks again to Elenhin for helping me out! I really appreciate it!

And one more thing. If you like me and my stories, then you should check out some Dukes stories by _**Shara2007**_ because they're half mine anyways! We worked hard on them, and we're not getting many readers! And I think they're not too shabby! Now on to the story!

**Chapter One: Happy Days**

The sun was setting slowly over the horizon. Bo and Luke Duke, having recently finished dinner, were on their way to meet their friend Cooter for a drink at the Boar's Nest, the only bar in Hazzard County. Their cousin Daisy was the waitress there.

It was a peaceful evening, and the sheriff, Rosco P. Coltrane and his two deputies, Enos Strate and Cletus Hogg were nowhere near the Duke boys, which was not normal. So it took them virtually no time to get there. Cooter was already there waiting for them, and had already ordered the drinks.

Bo immediately noticed the girl sitting by herself over in the corner. She was not familiar to Bo, and she seemed kind of sad. He shrugged it off, remembering this was "guy's night", and proceeded to go sit down with his cousin and friend. But there was still no way to get her striking beauty out of his mind.

Cooter and Luke noticed how withdrawn Bo seemed. They watched as his intense gaze traveled over to the mystery woman's table. Cooter and Luke exchanged smiles, and Luke nodded, unoticed by their hypnotized friend.

"Bo," Cooter said, at long last breaking his stare. "Go over there and ask her to dance."

Bo pretended to act confused. "Who?"

"Oh Bo, don't play dumb," Luke said. "That girl you been starin' at since the minute, no second, we walked in."

"Oh, that girl." Bo laughed nervously.

"Now quit wastin time an' ask 'er ta dance with ya," Cooter ordered.

"Okay," Bo said as he smiled sheepishly. "I'm gone." He got up, and Daisy came to sit down in Bo's chair.

"Hey fellas," she greeted cheerfully. "Where's Bo goin'?"

"Over there ta ask that girl ta dance," Luke said, indicating the pretty brunette sitting alone in the corner.

"Hi," Bo said to the girl, causing her to look up. Her eyebrows were raised expectantly, and her green eyes looked deep in his in question. Her gaze was so powerful, Bo had to look away for a moment. "Would ya like this dance?" he asked timidly.

"Sure," she said softly. Bo took in every bit of her voice, the soft, deep voice, the ever-so-slight lisp, the non-southern accent. "I'd love to." She looked to be about 5'8" or so, medium length, thick dark brown hair, curling down in soft waves.

"M'name's Bo," he said, smiling at her. "What's yer name?" he asked.

"Michelle," the girl said.

"Well, it's real nice ta meet ya, Michelle," Bo said.

"You too, Bo." They smiled at each other, golden smiles that lit up the whole room. They danced for awhile in silence.

**Ya'll reckon there's more ta this gal then Bo thinks? **

Meanwhile, back at the table, Luke, Cooter, and Daisy were watching Bo dance peacefully with Michelle.

"Wonder if he's gonna bring 'er over here?" Luke said.

As if on cue, the song ended, Bo said something to Michelle, and they came over to the table. "Hey guys, and Daisy, this is Michelle," Bo introduced. "Michelle, this is my cousins Luke and Daisy, and our friend Cooter."

Michelle smiled her radiant smile. "Nice to meet you guys." They all smiled back, and returned the greeting.

"Ya wanna dance more?" Bo asked Michelle quietly. Michelle nodded as her eyes seemed to smile at him. They proceeded to go out to the dance floor. The Dukes and Cooter watched them in stunned silence for a moment before Luke broke the silence.

"Ya'll ever seen Bo like that with a girl 'fore?" he asked, not taking his eyes off Bo and Michelle. Daisy and Cooter both shook their heads, also not taking their gaze off the couple on the dance floor.

"He might actually be in love," Daisy said softly. "Not just flirtin' with her like he normally does."

"Yeah, our little Bo is finally growing up," Luke said jokingly.

* * *

Bo whistled to himself as he completed the remainder of his chores. Only two nights ago, he had met the girl of his dreams. Now, he couldn't stop thinking about her. Luckily for him, he had managed to swing a second date at the Boar's Nest, tonight. He couldn't help but smile to himself. 

"What's got you so happy?" Luke asked. He didn't know Bo had a date, only that he hadn't seen his cousin so happy in a long time.

"I got a date tonight," Bo said. "With Michelle." His smile only grew wider.

"Wow. A real date? Not just a flirt session? This must be serious," Luke joked.

"Cute," Bo shot back. "But maybe. I think I really like her. More than anyone else."

"You've only spent one evening with her," Luke pointed out. "Don't take this too fast, Bo."

Bo smiled."Luke. It ain't like we's gettin' married tanight, we's just goin' out ta the Boar's Nest."

"Okay, I see yer point, Bo. Just be careful."

**Now don't ya'll git the feelin' Luke was right ta give ol' Bo warning?**

**

* * *

**"Hey," Bo greeted as he walked in the Boar's Nest. "How's it goin'?"

Michelle instantly smiled when she saw Bo. "It's goin' great. How 'bout you?"

"Never better," Bo said as he grinned. He sat down in booth Michelle was already seated in. "So, maybe we should tell each other about ourselves." When he got a nod in agreement from Michelle, he went on. "Wanna go first?"

Michelle shook her head. "No. You first."

"Well, I live with my cousins, Luke and Daisy, and our uncle Jesse . . ."

* * *

A few minutes later, Bo was done sharing his short life's story. "Alright, yer turn." He smiled at Michelle. 

"Okay, I just moved here from south Florida, well Miami. My grandmother was from here, I lived with her till I was seven and moved to Nashville to live with my aunt."

"Yer _that_ Michelle!" Bo exclaimed. "Yer the Michelle that rubbed paste in my hair in Kindergarten, and made me come to school the next day lookin' like someone had taken the sheep shearers ta my head, since Aunt Martha had ta cut it all off?"

Michelle chuckled. "Yeah, that was me. If you remember though, Ms. Kainey wasn't too happy with me after that."

"An' you've known who I was this whole time," Bo said. "How come ya didn't say somethin'? Maybe it's cause ya hate me just as much as ya did then, and ya wanted me ta make a fool a myself," he chortled.

"Maybe that's it," Michelle said, still grinning. "Naw, I just wanted you to figure it out for yourself."

**Now wouldn't you like ta find yerself in love with a gal who made a fool a you like that in Kindergarten?**

"Anyways, what've ya been doin' all this time?" Bo asked.

"Well, I went to school, then I graduated, then I went to college, then I graduated, then I got a job, then my grandmother passed away last month, I came to her funeral, I moved here because I didn't want the farm to leave the family."

"So ya here fer good now?" Bo asked.

"Yeah," Michelle said. "I guess I am."

* * *

Bo and Michelle dated a lot over the course of the next few months. They laughed, they made out, they danced, they made out, and they even did the nasty. It was impossible to find a happier couple in Hazzard than those two. Until one day, Michelle uttered the four words that no man ever wants to hear his girlfriend say. Not counting his name. 

"Bo, we need to talk."

Instantly, Bo decided he needed a little time before their talk to think about what response he would come back with. So they set a time and a private place to have their talk, and that gave Bo two nights to sleep on it, and try to come prepared.

He even talked to Luke. "Luke? Have you noticed anything I may have done that would make you mad if you were Michelle?" he asked, talking too fast to understand.

"What?" Luke said, almost stifling laughter. "I have no idea what you said, Bo. Slow down."

"Have--you--no--ticed--an--y--thing--I--may--have--done--that--would--make--you--mad--if--you--were--Mi--chelle?"he said, emphasising each syllable.

Luke thought for a moment, before saying no. "Why?"

"Cause she said the words," Bo answered.

"What words?" Luke wondered.

"She said, 'Bo, we need to talk.'" Bo said, desparate for help.

"Ooo. That ain't good. What're ya gonna do?" Luke asked.

"I don't know, what _should_ I do? Please tell me," Bo pleaded.

Luke chuckled. "Don't talk ta me. Wait until ya talk ta Michelle, and see what she has ta say. There is an off chance she may not even be mad atcha."

"What are the chances of that?" Bo wanted to know.

Luke hesitated for a moment. "Slim ta none."

* * *

Two days later, Bo found himself at the old boulder on the shore of Hazzard Pond, where Michelle and Bo had become quite accustomed to meeting at. He skipped stones for awhile before Michelle showed up, looking a little nervous. 

"Hey," Bo greeted. "Listen, I'm sorry I freaked out at you the other day. It's just, whenever a woman wants to talk, they usually wanna break up or somethin'."

"I don't wanna break up with you, Bo," Michelle assured. "But I--"

"Hey, honey that's great," Bo said.

"Bo, I--"

"I was really nervous there for a minute. No, more a like a couple of days."

"Sweetheart--"

"I honestly thought I had done something."

_"Bo, will you just listen to me!_" Michelle had to shout. "No, I don't want to break up with you. Especially not now. But what's really going on shouldn't be going on, especially not now!"

"Why not?" Bo wondered. "What is going on?"

"Bo," Michelle said, taking a deep breath, "I'm pregnant."

_TBC . . . _

* * *

And that's the end of chapter 1! I hope you enjoyed it, and please review, and if you have any ideas, tell me, cause I may run out someday! Click the button and send me a review NOW!  



	2. Telling the Family

A/N: Yeah, okay, I know it's been awhile, but I'm back with another chapter. And five reviews? Can't we, I, you do better than that? Please review after you've read this, PLEASE!

Once again, if you like this story, or any of my stories, check out stories by _**Shara 2007**_.

**Chapter 2:Telling the Family  
**

**When we left last ol' Bo an' Michelle, she had just dropped a real big bomb on poor Bo. Let's see how he handles it.**

"You, you're, you're, _what_?" Bo stuttered, unsure if he had just heard what he thought he heard.

"Pregnant . . ." Michelle said, voice trailing off.

"How'd that happen?" Bo wondered aloud.

"Well," Michelle said, matter-of-factly, "when two people really love each other, they--"

"I know that!" Bo said. "I mean, how did _we_ let this happen? Uh, the baby _is_ mine, right?"

"Who else would I be having a child with?" Michelle asked. "Of course the baby is yours, you dummy!"

"Sor_-ry_," Bo said. "Had ta make sure."

"No, I'm sorry. And no, I don't know how it happened."

"So . . . now what?" Bo asked, feeling a little helpless.

"I think we should tell yer family," Michelle suggested.

"Yeah, yer right," Bo admitted, "but they ain't gonna like it, especially Uncle Jesse."

"Well, I guess that's the price we have to pay," Michelle said. "I mean, we did create this baby."

Bo nodded. "How far along are you?"

"Only three weeks," Michelle informed him. "So, not too far."

"Well," Bo said, "I guess we'd better head back to the farm and face the music. Man, Uncle Jesse sure ain't gonna like this." Michelle shook her head in agreement.

**Looks like these two's is gonna have some interestin' times ahead.**

* * *

"Uncle Jesse!" Bo called as he exited the General Lee; Michelle imitating his movements with ease. "Uncle Jesse? Ya here somewhere? Uncle Jesse!" 

"Hang on, Bo," Luke's voice came from behind him. Bo wheeled around to find his dark-haired cousin standing next to the General's tail end. "Uncle Jesse's in town. An' what's so all-fired important he has ta know now?"

"Uh, well, I, uh," Bo stuttered nervously. "Me an' Michelle, we, uh--"

Michelle cut him off before he could manage to get the words out. "Bo, why don't we wait until Uncle Jesse gets back, so we can just tell them all at once?"

"Cause," Bo said defiantly, "I think it might help if we practiced on Luke. Might make me less nervous when we get around ta tellin' Uncle Jesse an' Daisy."

"I don't know, Bo," Michelle said, reluctant. "I just think it would be nice to save you the trouble from having to say it twice."

"But Shelly," Bo said, using the nickname only he used on Michelle, "it might be easier if I've already practiced on Luke."

"Ya, maybe ya should practice on Luke," Luke said, smiling. "Maybe Luke won't freak out as much as ya think."

"I think Luke will freak out," Michelle supposed. "But go ahead and do what you want."

"I'm gonna tell him," Bo affirmed. "Luke, I think we were bad."

"Okay, continue," Luke prompted, snickering.

"Well," Bo went on. He looked at the ground, not wanting to see the look of dishonor in his older cousin's eyes. He sighed. "Shelly's pregnant. With, uh, my child."

Luke remained speechless for several moments. Finally, after searching hard, he found his voice. "Bo, I didn't think it was gonna be that, uh, big."

Bo, who was still looking downward, remained silent. Michelle spoke. "See, Bo? I told you it wouldn't be a good idea to tell him first."

Bo looked up at her. "I still think it is. I'm sorry, Luke. Please, don't be mad at me."

"Oh, Bo," Luke breathed. "I'm not mad, I'm just a little shocked." He sighed. "What're ya gonna do?"

"I guess we have to do our best to give it a good home," Michelle said. "It wouldn't be fair to the poor baby if we were bad parents, it's not the baby's fault we fooled around too much one night, is it?"

"You're right, Shelly," Bo said. "That's all we can do." He stayed silent before asking the question all three were wondering. "Do you think we should get married?"

"Maybe we should," Michelle decided. "It would secure our relationship so the baby will have normal parents."

"I'm sure you guys could live here at the farm," Luke offered. "I'm sure me an' Bo could build a small addition on the house fer ya." Bo nodded his consent. "But ya know whatcha gotta do fer now, right?"

"Tell Uncle Jesse," the three said in unison.

* * *

A couple hours later, Jesse had come back from town, and Daisy had come back from working at the Boar's Nest. Luke informed the two that Bo had something important to tell them, so they sat in the Duke living room as Bo and Michelle prepared themselves to tell Jesse and Daisy. 

After a few minutes of making Jesse and Daisy and Luke very impatient, Bo and Michelle finally materialized into view through the storm door. Bo looked around at Jesse and Daisy and sighed.

"Ya needed ta tell us somethin', Bo?" Jesse asked. Bo nodded, but stayed silent. "Can't hear ya, Bo. Speak up."

Bo half-smiled. "Uncle Jesse, Daisy, I ain't quite sure how ta tell ya'll this, so I'm just gonna say it. Michelle an' I are, uh, well, we're, uh, p-pregant."

Neither Jesse or Daisy could say a word for a few seemingly never-ending moments. Finally, Jesse broke the uncomfortable silence.

"Bo, I expected better judgement from the two a you's," was all he could think of to say. After the words escaped his lips, he immediately regretted his word choice and the harshness in which he had said his poor phrasing.

"I know, Uncle Jesse, I know!" Bo said, mentally kicking himself now. "Please don't be mad, Uncle Jesse."

"I ain't exactly mad, Bo," Jesse told the boy. "I'm just a little disappointed in yer actions."

"I'm sorry Uncle Jesse!" Bo apologized. "I know whatcher gonna say next!" He was almost in tears. "'Bo, I thought I broughtcha up better than that!' or 'Bo, ya lemme down!'" He didn't wait for a reply, he just headed out the door.

"Bo, I--" Uncle Jesse started to say. "Luke, would ya go make sure that boy don't do nothin' stupid?" Luke nodded before retreating to find his youngest cousin. Jesse glanced over at Michelle, who hadn't yet spoken a word. "Michelle, it ain't nothin' against ya, ya know I love ya an' consider ya part a the family, but I didn't think--"

"It's okay," Michelle cut him off, looking about ready to cry herself. "I know, you're just being a good uncle."

Jesse didn't know how to respond to this, so he just said, "Thank ya" before going off to find his nephews. Daisy stayed behind to comfort Michelle. The two had become good friends in recent months. Daisy had even helped her get a job waitressing at the Boar's Nest.

"Oh, Daisy," Michelle said, taking a shaky breath. "This isn't going at all how we'd hoped it would."

"Did ya really expect everyone ta be all happy with it?" Daisy asked. "I mean, ya did just spring this on us, no warnin'."

Michelle chuckled a little. "When you put it like that, it does kinda sound, um, like bad news."

"But it ain't all your fault, either," Daisy reassured. "Bo does kinda have a tendancy ta git sensitive when he thinks his uncle's real mad at 'im. Most a the time, though, Uncle Jesse ain't even that mad, he's just a little, well, disappointed. An' I also don' think Uncle Jesse wanted his reaction ta come out that way, either. Think he's feelin' a little low, too."

"I hope you're right, Daisy," Michelle said.

* * *

Uncle Jesse and Luke found Bo sitting on the hood of General Lee, who was restin comfortably in the barn. "Bo?" Luke called as he spotted a piece of cornsilky hair from over the General's roof. 

Jesse and Luke went around and sat down on either side of Bo. Bo shifted uncomfortably, but remained where he was.

"Bo, I'm sorry," Jesse said. "I didn't mean ta sound so upset earlier. It didn't come out quite the way I wanted to."

"How did you want it to come out Uncle Jesse?" Bo asked, his voice heavy with remorse.

"What I meant ta say is, it saddened me a little ta see that yer life is about ta change, an' although I didn't agree with yer choices in the firs' place, I know you'll make the right choice now an' yer gonna be the best dang father Hazzard County ever saw."

Bo nodded. "I owe it ta the baby, don' I?"

Jesse nodded, too. "Tha's right. An' ya ain't in this alone, ya gotcher family, which is about ta git a little bigger. Ya plan on marryin' that gal in there, right?"

"Shelly an' I think we should, an' it wouldn't be all bad! I do love 'er!"

"Glad ta hear that," Jesse said.

"But I ain't ready ta leave the farm yet, so ya think we could build a little addition on ta the house?" Bo wondered, asking about Luke's idea from earlier.

"Well, Bo," Jesse said, "I ain't sure if we have the money, but we could try. But I think we'll have ta do it ourselves. There ain't no way we could afford outside help."

Bo nodded. "Okay."

**Aww. Don't ya'll just _love_ that kinda family love?**

* * *

The first month of the pregnancy went by, and it looked like the Dukes were just barely going to have enough money to build the new addition. Luke and Bo were getting ready to start construction. Michelle and Bo set a wedding date, and it was going to be in three months. Originally it was going to be a small wedding, family and close friends (like Cooter, and Enos, since Daisy had recently started to date him), but word of mouth spread the news like wildfire around Hazzard. The Dukes didn't want to hurt people's feelings, so now it was going to be a bigger wedding. Michelle would move in with the Dukes after the wedding, if Bo and Luke were done with the addition by then. So far, Michelle's pregnancy was going pretty well, however she was still getting used to all that morning sickness and mood swings and all that. 

One day, when Bo and Luke were working on the new addition, Bo got a little too distracted.

"Bo," Luke said. No response. "Earth ta Bo." Still no answer. "BO!" he shouted into his evidently deaf younger cousin. This got his attention. "Hey, Bo, will ya take the ladder an' start layin' some a those boards on the top?"

"Sure," Bo said. Luke began to wonder if that was such a good idea, since Bo seemed so out of it. But he let it go. Bo grabbeed the ladder and set it up where he would work. Then he pulled Jesse's truck around to the side, which held the lumber.

Daisy came outside, searching for something to do. Michelle was at her own house, and she had finished all her chores. "Can I help ya boys?"

"Yeah, Daisy," Bo replied. "Can ya hand me these boards while I nail 'em up?" Daisy nodded, and handed Bo a stick of lumber.

"So," she said, "how long you two think ya's gonna be workin' on this?"

"Oh, I don' know," Luke said. "I just hope it's done before the baby's born. I don' want it sleepin' in our room." He chuckled.

"Oh, yeah, why not?" Bo said jokingly.

"Cause," Luke said, "yer the daddy. So if it's anything like you I ain't gonna git any sleep."

"Cute." He drove the hammer into the nail again.

They worked in silence for a few moments, Daisy handing Bo the boards, Bo nailing them down, Luke nailing boards at the bottom. Then Bo lost his footing on the ladder. He slipped off, and it retracted and squished his foot between two of the rungs.

"Ow!" Bo yelled. "Someone get it off! 'S killin' m' foot! Git it off! Owwwwwwwww!"

"Hang on Bo!" Luke called to his pained cousin.

"Owwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!" Bo wailed.

**Well, Bo, sorry ta leave ya trapped in that there ladder, but we's gonna take a break. Ya'll stick around.**

**

* * *

**Okay peoples, you know what to do now, I hope, considering I think you've all been here long enough. So find the thing that says "submit review" and click the button next to it that says "Go".


	3. Warning: Ladders Can Cause Serious

A/N: I've decided to discontinue the balladeer in this story because I'm having extreme difficulties in working him in anywhere since there isn't much action in this story. Sorry for any inconvenience that may cause you lovely folks out there.

**Chapter 3: Warning: Ladders Cause Serious Injuries  
**

After a few frantic seconds of waiting for Luke to approach him and remove the metal ladder from his foot, the pain in Bo's foot finally eased up--a little. No one could speak for a few seconds, just breathe heavily. Michelle had pulled up in her car as Bo was howling over the pain, and rushed over to see what the commotion was about, and Jesse had come from inside, too.

"Ouch," Bo spat out, clutching his foot. He was sitting on the ground, ladder thrown next to him.

"You okay?" Luke asked. Bo nodded, but winced. "Let's try ta take off that shoe, see what the damage is." When Bo nodded again, Luke took Bo's foot in his had and pulled on the shoe.

"Ahhhhhhh!" Bo howled again. He squeezed his eyes shut. "Luke, stop! Don't try no more!"

"Too late," Luke said, holding Bo's shoe in his hand. "Already got it off."

"Owwwwww," Bo said.

"What happened?" Michelle asked.

"That's what I'd like ta know," Jesse said.

Luke explained what happened to Michelle and Jesse. He also explained how he figured that the ladder collapsed because Bo's foot had caught on the safety lock. Then he looked down at Bo's foot, which was bruised and swollen. "Bo," he said, "I think we'd best getcha ta Doc Applebee's. That foot's prob'ly broke." Bo nodded in agreement and allowed Luke and Daisy to help him to the car, still deeply pained.

Michelle and Jesse watched as they drove away. "Well," Jesse said. "We best get ta work. Bo's gonna want a nice home cooked meal when he gits back."

Michelle smiled. "Should you go git the crawdads or should I?" she quipped. Jesse grinned, and knew she would fit into the family nicely.

* * *

It was almost 6 o'clock when the storm door of the Dukes' house opened. Daisy held it open, while Luke supported Bo inside, mumbling "Easy now, Bo." 

"Hey guys," Michelle greeted. "How ya doin', honey?"

Bo grunted, pulling himself forward on his crutches. "Fractured foot. Gotta stay off this dang thing fer six weeks."

"Aww," she said jokingly. She smiled. "Don't worry, Uncle Jesse and I made your favorite! Crawdad bisque! Can't ya _smell _it?" Still grinning, she held up a bowl of crawdad bisque underneath his nose and sniffed. "Yum!"

Bo raised an eyebrow at her, but smiled. "All right, I'll eat some." He sat down and Michelle put the bowl down in front of him. He eagerly dug in.

Luke, Daisy, Michelle, and Jesse followed suit and they ate a nice meal, and afterwards, they relaxed before Michelle reluctantly went home and they went to bed.

* * *

"Hey Uncle Jesse," Bo said, seeing his uncle as he made his way into the kitchen. "How're we gonna git the addition done if I can't do nothin' fer six weeks?" 

"Oh yeah," Jesse agreed, "I didn't think a that one. We'll think a somethin', Bo, don' worry."

"Hey, buddy-roo's," Cooter's voice came through the screen door. "Luke did think a that. An' I think I can help ya out there. I'll help Luke with the addition till Bo's back on his feet."

Bo sighed. "Thanks buddy. 'Preciate it."

"No problem. Things has been real slow at the garage lately, so I figure I can spend some time here. So I better git back out there an' help Lukas with it." He went back outside.

"Answer yer question, Bo?" Jesse asked.

Bo smiled, and nodded.

Outside, Michelle pulled her car up the Duke driveway. She came to a stop and stepped out.

"Hey, Luke, Cooter!" she greeted, seeing them both on top of the addition's frame.

"Hey, Michelle!" Luke and Cooter called in unison.

"Don't fall, guys!" she joked. "Where's Bo?"

"Inside!" Cooter shouted down. "What've ya got there?" he asked about the picnic basket Michelle held in her hands.

"I thought I'd cheer Bo up a little!" she said. "I'm gonna bring 'im outside fer a picnic!"

"Okay!" Luke consented. "Just stay close to the house!"

Michelle nodded, and headed inside to seek out her injured fiance. "Bo!" she called.

She quickly received an answer. "I'm in here!" he responded from the living room. She set the picnic basket down on the table as she made her way into the living room, finding both Bo and Uncle Jesse in there having a nice talk.

"If you guys are real engaged in your conversation," she began, "I can go outside."

"No tha's all right," Jesse told her. "You go ahead, I know ya got somethin' planned."

"We have somethin' planned?" Bo questioned. "Uncle Jesse, what do you know that I don't?"

"Just that ya'll got somethin' planned," Jesse replied mysteriously as he got up to leave. Michelle smiled at him, and Jesse winked in reponse.

"What do we got planned?" Bo asked again.

"Come on," she ordered. "We're goin' out by the barn ta have picnic lunch."

"Okay," Bo said unenthusiastically. "Let's go."

Michelle smiled. The headed outside and picked out the perfect spot to enjoy their picnic. They spent a couple hours, just sitting in the sun and chatting. Mostly they discussed how life was going to be after they were married and had the baby, along with some naughty things that are too private to share, and are not suitable for small children. By the time they finally made their way back inside, Bo was finally in a good mood.

* * *

He didn't stay that way for long, however. The next few weeks were very frustrating for Bo, and he and Michelle got in a couple of good squabbles. Don't worry, they always made up in the end, but neither half of the couple were happy. 

That seemed to take a turn for the better as the day Bo got the cast off his foot. He couldn't walk without seriously limping yet, and probably wouldn't go away before the wedding, according to his doctor. They concluded that although he might look funny when he walked his new wife down the aisle, that wasn't the important thing. Bo actually listened to them, and he immediately felt better. Also because now, he could do his job as an expecting father and take care of the mom, instead of the pregnant woman taking care of her injured husband, or in this case, finacee.

Finally the big day had arrived, and things weren't looking to good for Hazzard County's almost newest married couple. They had to do that whole can't see each other till the ceremony starts once the clock strikes midnight the night before thing, and so they argued over the phone over the stupidest thing:

"Bo," Luke said as he caught Bo giving his arguement. "Who are ya yellin' at?"

"None a yer business," Bo told him.

However, Michelle thought he was talking to her. "Do you mind telling me what's not my business? This is my wedding too."

"Not you!" Bo proclaimed. "I was talkin' ta Luke! Now as I was saying Shelly, ya coulda told me you were changin' the flowers!"

"Why is it so important?" Michelle wondered. "What's the big deal?"

As Michelle said this, Luke made his own statement. "You an' Michelle are arguin' over the _flowers_? That's the stupidest thing I ever heard!" He started laughing.

Bo ignored him, and listened to Michelle instead of Luke. "I thought we were makin' every desicion tagether! Is this how ya want our marriage ta start? What happened ta honesty?"

Michelle sighed. "Bo, you're overreacting," she said serenely.

"Am I?" Bo said.

"If I didn't know any better I'd say you were the pregnant one," Michelle retorted.

"Is that right?" said Bo with a note of hostility.

"Mm hmm," she said.

"You know what?" Bo said, his voice rising. Then it went back to a reasonable level. "You're absolutely right."

"I know," Michelle said calmly. "See ya at the church, honey."

"All right, bye Shelly." They hung up.

* * *

A/N: Okay, that's all for now. You'll have to come back later for the wedding. Don't know if you noticed, but I think my writing style got a little weird there towards the end. Sorry bout that. I'm in a cynical mood today. Forgive me. Or maybe if you did notice, and you like it, I'll stick with it. It was actually kind of fun. Review, that's all I ask. PRETTY PRETTY PRETTY PLEASE WITH A CHERRY ON TOP! 


	4. Wedding Bells Ring, Unless They're Broke

A/N: Hey ya'll! Wow, I think I had this one up faster than normal. And sorry about the lack of Trouble at the Boar's Nest, I'm suffering extreme writer's block and I'm having trouble of figuring out where I'm going. I have about half the chapter done, and should have more soon. Anyways, please review and and enjoy this chapter.

Also, my sister got married about three weeks ago, and something funny happened there, so I worked it into this chapter. Try and figure out what it is that I'm talking about.

**  
Chapter 4: Wedding Bells Ring, Unless They're Broken**

Bo pulled the General into the church parking space feeling better than he had that morning. He had sort of made up with the bride-to-be, and they were gonna start their marriage of on the right foot--actually the left, considering Bo still had a considerable limp on his right foot. That's of no importance, though, since he was just about to get married.

Luke patted his shoulder as they opened the great double doors to the church. He smiled. "I can't believe your the first one of us to get married, Bo," he said. "I always thought it would be Daisy."

"Well," said Bo. "I think she's next." He looked over at his other cousin, who was making out something fierce with Enos. Bo and Luke burst out laughing as Jesse reprimanded them for making out in front of a _church._ The family and Enos headed inside.

Daisy immediately picked up a program and began reading. "Let's see if there's any errors. Best Man-Lukas Duke, Groomsmen, Jesse Duke, Cooter Davenport. Maid of Honor, Daisy Duke, Bridesmaids-Mary Beth Ramsey, and Sue Ann Payton. Flower girl-Becky Lee Ramsey. Looks right to me."

Mary Beth and Sue Ann were other waitresses at the Boar's Nest along with Daisy, and Michelle, too, since she had started working there. Michelle had become fast friends with the other girls, and Mary Beth's daughter Becky Lee was the flower girl.

* * *

Daisy made her way back to the bridal dressing room to help the bride. She found an undressed Michelle glancing glumly down at her dress. Daisy sat down next to her and threw an arm around her shoulder. 

"What's the matter, sugar?" Daisy asked.

"I can't fit into the dress," Michelle replied. "I'm too, well, pregnant. I shoulda known, getting married halfway through pregnancy would require a bigger dress than what I fit into when I bought it."

"Ya can't fit into it at all?" Daisy wondered. After Michelle shook her head no in response, Daisy sighed. "Dang, now what do we do?"

Michelle had a lone tear slipping down her cheek, smudging her makeup. Her hair was all curled and done up in clips. "I don't know!" she sobbed. "This is supposed to be a happy day! But my dress won't fit, I argued with my almost husband about flowers, I feel like puking, and now I look like crap cause I've been crying!"

"Oh, honey," Daisy soothed. "Don't worry, we'll fix it."

"How?" Michelle choked out. "I can't just get a new dress now, it's too late!"

"Knock, knock," a voice came from outside. It was Uncle Jesse. "May I come in?"

"Just one second, Uncle Jesse!" Daisy answered. She grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around Michelle's bare body. "Okay, come in!"

Jesse took one look at his almost niece-in-law, and immediately knew this wedding was so far turning out to be a disaster. "What's wrong?" he asked the girls.

"Her dress won't fit 'er," Daisy answered for Michelle. "Guess we didn't realize her belly'd be gettin' bigger when we bought the dress."

"Well, now, there ain't no reason ta panic," Jesse consoled. "The dress ain't the important thing. The important thing is that yer gettin' married ta my youngest. An' him gettin married, now tha's a miracle."

A gurgly giggle escaped Michelle. Daisy smiled, too. Jesse was pleased he got Michelle to laugh.

"Yer havin' a bad day, aren't ya?" Jesse asked. When Michelle nodded, Jesse continued. "Maybe there's some way we can stretch this dress out ta make it fit."

"Not without breaking it," Michelle said. Before anyone could say another word, Mary Beth, Sue Ann, and Becky Lee entered the bridal dressing room.

"Hey come on Michelle," Mary Beth said. "Get yer dress on, we're gonna run late!" Michelle let out another choked sob, and Jesse and Daisy explained the situation.

"I figured that might happen," Mary Beth said. "When you showed me your dress last night, I thought, 'Man, that dress is real small fer her pregnant belly.' So I brought ya somethin'. I brought ya my weddin' dress. I'm a little bigger'n ya, so you might fit inta my dress."

Michelle smiled through her tears. "This is why you're my bridesmaid," she said to Mary Beth. "Thank you so much."

* * *

Bo nervously attempted to tie his bowtie. He kept fumbling around, until Luke noticed. 

"Here buddy," he said. "Lemme help ya with this."

"Thanks Luke," Bo said. He sighed.

"What's up, Bo?" Luke wondered.

"I'm a little nervous," Bo admitted. "I ain't never thought bout gettin' married, even six months ago. I bet we wouldn't be here taday if Shelly weren't pregnant. Ya think we'll last?"

"Bo," Luke said, a little exasperated."Have ya seen the way you and Michelle look at each other? Yer in love, an' it'll last."

Bo grinned, grateful for Luke's words.

* * *

Though it was a tight fit, Michelle made the new dress work. She would have liked an even bigger dress, but that was obviously out of the question. Pretty much as soon as it was completely on, the ceremony was about to begin. 

Daisy, Michelle, Mary Beth, Sue Ann, and Becky Lee stood at the back of the church, waiting for the cue to head down the aisle. As the maid of honor, Daisy went first. She was followed by Mary Beth, then Sue Ann, and finally Becky Lee. Bo, Luke, Jesse, and Cooter were already down at the altar, waiting for Michelle.

Since Jesse was the only man alive Michelle considered to be like a father, and he was a groomsman, she walked herself down the aisle. Everyone turned to look at her, just as in normal weddings. She slowly walked down the aisle as the wedding march played in the background. She couldn't help but smile when she saw Bo watching her from the altar. She looked directly into his eyes, and knew this was right. Bo was the right man to be her husband, and the father of her children. She felt as if she had fallen in love with Bo Duke all over again. Tears streaked down her face, only this time it was tears of joy, and not of frustration as they were earlier that day.

Once she got to the altar, the minister, Reverend Gerralds began the ceremony.

"Dearly beloved," he addressed. "We are gathered here today to join in holy matrimony, these two young people, Beauregard-" he received a harsh stare from Bo-"excuse me, _Bo_ James Duke and Michelle Evelyn Dennis. If there is anyone present who does not think these two should be married, speak now, or forever hold your peace."

No one answered, so Reverend Gerralds continued. He had them say their I do's. He gave a short reading before proceeding with the vows. "Bo, repeat after me. 'I, Bo, take you Michelle, to be my wife.'"

Bo smiled, gazing into Michelle's eyes. "I, Bo, take you Michelle, to be my wife."

"'To have and to hold from this day forward,'" the minister continued.

"To have and to hold from this day forward," Bo repeated, smiling at Michelle.

"'For better or for worse,'" he went on.

"For better or for worse," Bo echoed softly once more.

"'For richer, for poorer . . .'"

"For richer, for poorer . . ."

"'In sickness and in health . . .'"

"In sicknes and in health . . ." Bo's voice hitched slightly.

"'To love and to cherish . . .'"

"To love and to cherish . . ." he smiled again.

"'From this day forward until death do us part," the reverend finished.

"From this day forward until death do us part," Bo added with a note of finality. Reverend Gerralds repeated the same thing for Michelle and then asked Luke for the rings. Luke nodded and gave them to the minister.

"All right, Bo," the reverend said again. "Take this ring and put it on Michelle's ring finger and say 'With this ring, I thee wed.'"

Bo did as he was told, and Michelle did the same. Finally, Reverend Gerralds pronounced them husband and wife, and Bo planted a nice kiss on his new bride and they walked back up the aisle once more. They were followed by Daisy and Luke, Mary Beth and Jesse, and Sue Ann and Cooter. This was okay with Sue Ann, since she had an unexplainable crush on Cooter. She was even hoping Cooter would save her a dance during the reception.

Luckily for her, Sue Ann got that dance, and even a kiss. Turns out Cooter likes Sue Ann too. Maybe there will be a wedding in their future. Sue Ann even caught the bouquet, and Cooter caught the other thing (completely forgot what those are called, but they're the things the men have to catch). They earned a dance, but first, Cooter had to attempt to put the "other thing" on Sue Ann's leg--blindfolded.

While Cooter wasn't looking, Luke, who was running a commentary on this whole thing, secretly pulled Bo up to the dance floor, where the blindfolded Cooter and Sue Ann were. Luke sat his now married cousin down on the chair where Sue Ann was supposed to be.

"Okay Cooter," Luke said. "Let's see if you can get onta Sue Ann's leg properly." Everyone was snickering, but no one said anything as Cooter put the thing on whom he thought was Sue Ann, but was really Bo. Once Cooter had it on Bo's leg, Luke announced, "Okay buddy-roe, take off that thing ta see if ya got it on 'er right."

Cooter pulled off his blindfold to find Bo in the chair and Sue Ann off to the side laughing. He playfully punched Bo in the leg before his hard-earned dance with Sue Ann.

The reception went over well, and everyone had a good time. Most of all Bo and Michelle were happy, even though there was to be no honeymoon.

* * *

A/N: Hope ya liked it! Please review! 


	5. The Joys of First Time Pregnancies

**Chapter 5: The Joys of First Time Pregnancies**

A week had passed since the glorious occasion. It was decided that Michelle would share Daisy's room until the addition was finished. Bo and Luke would continue to share their room. Bo and Michelle wished they could sleep together, but they understood that this was simply the most convenient way to do it. This was also a way to make them work faster on the addition. Although Bo did realize how much he was going to miss sharing with Luke. He'd been sharing a room with Luke since he moved into the Duke farm when he was just under a year old.

Luke had been six years old at the time, and though then he didn't like sleeping with his baby cousin, now, at at 29, he knew he would miss his 23-year-old "baby" cousin. Even though Bo would be still in the house, it wouldn't be right sleeping in that room by himself. The only thing that kept him working hard on the addition was the notion that his cousin was going to be very happy with his growing family.

On the morning of the eighth day of their marriage, Luke woke up to Michelle giving Bo a hard time in the kitchen. Apparently, Michelle didn't want bacon with her eggs, she wanted sausage. But they didn't have any! Unfortunately for Bo, no one in their house had any experience with pregnancies, so no one was sure what to do. Michelle was. She wouldn't mind if Bo went out and killed a pig so she could have sausage.

"Bo," she whined. "Why don't we have any sausage?" Bo shrugged. "I can't make this family breakfast unless I have sausage!"

"Why can't ya use bacon?" Luke heard Bo wonder.

"I can't use bacon because I don't _want_ to use bacon!" Michelle insisted.

"Where do ya expect me ta go find some sausage right now?" Bo asked her.

"How should I know?" asked an exasperated Michelle. "Go to a neighbor's house!"

"You expect me to go to someone's house _now_?" Bo yelled. This is when Luke butted in.

"Hey come on, Bo, I'll come with ya," he suggested.

"Wait," Bo said. "Yer on her side?"

"Yeah, now come on," Luke said, pulling Bo out the door.

"I ain't believin' this Luke. How could ya side with her?"

"I'm not. I just said that so I could getcha outta there. You should be thankin' me, not yellin' at me. Let's go." He drug his cousin around to the side of the house where they found Daisy in the barn.

"Hey fellas," Daisy greeted. "Ain't it nice a Michelle ta cook breakfast fer us this mornin'?"

"Not really," Bo said, a little confused as to what was going on. "She says she can't cook it until I go out an' git 'er some sausage."

"Yeah so come on Daisy," Luke said. "Git in the General. We're all goin' ta git some sausage."

Bo looked desparately at Luke. "We're leavin' Uncle Jesse alone with 'er? Poor Uncle Jesse . . ."

"Aww, don't worry Bo," Daisy assured him. "Uncle Jesse's out on the back forty. He won't notice. So where we goin'."

"Don't worry Daisy," Luke said. "I'll explain on the way."

Ten minutes later, the Duke cousins arrived at a farm. It was the Strate farm. Luke, having heard that Mr. and Mrs. Strate were gone for the weekend, knew that Enos was watching the place. He brought Daisy because he knew Enos would give up his extra sausage for her. He waited in the car while his two younger cousins made their way up to Enos's front door.

A few seconds after knocking on the door, Enos came to greet the Dukes. "Hey there Daisy," he said. "Hey Bo. Can I help ya'll?"

"Ya sure can sugar," Daisy said. "Do ya have any sausage?"

"Well, yeah, honey-bun," he said. "But I was gonna make me some breakfast with it."

"If you let us have that sausage, you can come over for breakfast," Bo offered. "Please, I'm desparate. You have no idea what it's like living with a pregnant woman."

Enos shook his head, but then accepted. He went back with the Dukes to the farm (after grabbing the sausage of course), which made Michelle a happy woman.

* * *

When Michelle was about seven months along, Bo had another negative experience as an expectant father. Only this time it wasn't about random cravings, it was about random mood swings. It happened when Bo and Luke were done putting drywall in, and were almost done with installing utilities, such as plumbing and electricity. After that they'd start painting the walls before finally putting in flooring. 

They were hauling things back and forth from Jesse's pickup, and they began singing a two-part harmony to "I'll Fly Away." They didn't even realize they had an audience until they were finished. Daisy and Michelle stood there, clapping as they hit their last note.

"That was great, guys," Daisy commented. Bo and Luke looked up to see their two favorite women standing there.

"Heh, thanks guys," Luke said sheepishly. Bo just blushed.

"Hey, why don't you guys let us see the inside?" Michelle suggested. "I'm dying to see the inside. I gotta see what you guys have done." Bo and Luke agreed and led the girls into the addition.

"Wow," Daisy said. "This is really comin' along. 'Fore ya know it, you'll be outta my room Michelle, an' in here."

Michelle's eyes misted over. "I know. You guys have done an outstanding job here. I can't wait to move in."

Bo and Luke smiled. "Thanks honey," Bo said before kissing his wife on the top of the head.

Michelle had tears streaming down her cheeks by this point. "I don't know what I did to deserve you, Bo!"

"Aww, honey, ya deserve me plenty," Bo said, wrapping his arms around her. "Don't worry bout that."

"No," she wailed. "You're too good for me. I should really do better."

"Honey you're perfect," Bo told her. "There ain't nothin' wrong with ya."

"But I'm not pretty, and I've been a major pain these last seven months. You've been so good to me; you've put up with me and you've barely complained."

"Aww Shelly," Bo soothed. "It ain't been that bad." In his mind however, he was thinking, _Just two more months, just two more months!_ But he weould never tell that to Michelle because then she'd really lose it. "It's almost over anyhow."

"Not soon enough," Michelle sobbed. "How do I not annoy you? I even annoy myself."

"Because I love you, that's why."

A few more minutes of talk like this, and Bo had his wife pretty well under control, much to his, Daisy's, and Luke's relief.

* * *

A week later, Bo and Michelle had a bit of a scare. They were making a trip to town on a sunny Friday afternoon with Luke. Bo sped down the roads at his usual pace. Suddenly, he noticed two police cars on his tail. 

"Dang, it's Rosco and his dipstick deputies!" Bo exclaimed. "Hang on honey!" Luke put his arm around Michelle's shoulders and held on tight. Michelle wasn't surprised by this action, she knew how her husband was behind the wheel of a car, especially the General Lee.

The four-car caravan sped down Highway 16, laying up rubber on the Georgia asphalt. "Bo, isn't the Dry Creek Bridge under construction?" Michelle wondered.

"Yeah," Bo said. "Don't really wanna jump this creek with a pregnant woman, but I ain't got no choice now."

Michelle nervously bit her lip as Bo slammed on the gas, streaming through the sky. They didn't land so smoothly on the other side, with Bo landing on a sharp rock and blowing out the tire. They swereved around the road for a moment before coming to a stop on the side. No one moved or breathed for a moment, but Luke noticed Michelle's face was as white as Boss Hogg's clothes.

Rosco and Cletus made it over, but Enos ended up in the creek. Rosco and Cletus each disembarked their respective vehicles, Rosco grinning and giggling to himself.

"This time I gotcha!" Rosco proclaimed with excitement. "I really gotcha!" Flash barked in response. "Step outta the vehicle, ya'll!"

Luke ignored Rosco, but reached behind Michelle to tap Bo's shoulder. He used his head to indicate for him to notice how sickly Michelle looked. Bo noticed, and immediately panicked.

"Michelle, honey?" he said. "Ya alright?" Michelle, who was looking at the floor, shook her head no. Bo looked up at Rosco. "Please don't arrest us, not now," he pleaded. "Michelle needs ta git ta a doc, real bad."

Rosco honestly wasn't sure of what to do. He knew if he kept them, then Michelle could be in serious danger. He also knew if he let them go, Boss Hogg would be very mad. He just stood there for a moment, considering the pros and cons of each option.

Luke could tell he was struggling for an answer, so he came up with one himself. "How 'bout you arrest us, an' take us in yer car, and Cletus'll take Michelle ta Tri-County in his car? Will that work?"

"That's a dang good idea!" Rosco admitted. "Cletus, escort this lady ta Tri-County, would ya?" Cletus nodded, and once Bo and Luke had gotten out of the General and helped Michelle out, he led Michelle over to his car. Bo grabbed a hold of her first.

"Don't worry honey," he consoled. "It'll be okay, you'll see. Uncle Jesse'll have us outta jail before you can say 'chickamahoney.' I'll see ya soon." He carefully hugged his wife before joining Luke.

That's when Enos appeared from the river. "Can someone call Cooter an' ask 'im ta git m'car outta the river?" he asked. Everyone ignored him except for Cletus, who threw him a towel and told him to get in the backseat.

Rosco took the boys and sped off towards town, and Cletus, Michelle, and Enos went the opposite direction towards the hospital.

* * *

"All right Bo, Luke, what happened?" Uncle Jesse wondered. He barged into Hazzard's jail. "Where's Michelle?" Jesse had not yet heard about Michelle having to go to the hospital. "Ya'd better start talkin', right now." 

The boys went on to explain everything to their uncle, including how Michelle went off with Cletus and Enos.

"An' that's what happened," Bo concluded at the end. "I know I shouldn't have jumped the creek with a pregnant woman in the car, but I couldn't see any other way, 'cept ta jus' drive right on inta the creek."

"That's all right Bo," Jesse comforted his nephew. "It weren't yer fault, ya couldn't help it. I unnerstand, an' I betcha Michelle does too. Now lemme pay yer bail an' getcha outta here. Then we'll drive straight on ta Tri-County ta see Michelle." When Bo nodded, Jesse hollered for Rosco up the stairs.

"Jesse," Rosco said angrily as he came down the stairs, fists clenched. "I ain't Flash, I don't just come when ya call me like a dog!"

Jesse grinned. "An' yet, ya jest did," he pointed out.

"Iiiiigiiiit!" Rosco exclaimed. "Hush up, Jesse!"

"But I wanna pay the boys' bail, an' then we'll be outta yer hair," Jesse said.

"That'll be a hundred a piece," Rosco said, grinning.

"Rosco!" Jesse yelled. "I ain't got that kinda money ta bail out, 'specially when m'boys didn't really do nothin' wrong!"

"Oh, piddly," Rosco returned. "Then I ain't got the time ta listen ta yer piddly complaints."

"Ya got enough fer one of us, Uncle Jesse?" Luke asked.

"Yeah," Jesse answered. "But it wouldn't be right ta bail out one a-ya's but not the other'n."

"Naw, go ahead 'n' bail out Bo," Luke said. "He's gotta wife he needs ta tend to. I don' mind stayin' 'ere by m'self." Bo looked at his cousin hesitantly. "Go!" Luke reassured.

"Well, okay," Bo said.

* * *

Cletus, Enos, and Michelle quickly arrived at Tri-County. Once they were out of the car, Enos and Cletus each grabbed one of Michelle's arms and they slowly made their way inside the building. Once they got inside, they immediately found an orderly, who took Michelle to the ER. Not sure what to do next, Cletus and Enos hastily went over to the waiting room. They sat in an uncomfortable silence for a few moments, occasionally Cletus would start whistling. The two police officers were the only ones in the waiting room. Finally Enos couldn't take it anymore, and he broke the silence. 

"Ya think Daisy knows 'bout this yet?" he asked Cletus.

"I ain't sure," Cletus said. "Yer her boyfriend, not me." Cletus had been extremely jealous of Enos since he had starting courting Daisy.

"I'm gonna call down at the Boar's Nest 'n' tell 'er," Enos decided. "I'll be back."

While Enos was gone, a doctor came out and talked to Cletus.

"Are you Michelle's husband, Bo Duke?" he asked, glancing over at his charts.

"No sir," Cletus answered. "I'm deputy Cletus Hogg, Bo asked if me an' another deputy Enos Strate would bring 'er here. Bo ain't here yet."

"Well," the doctor said. "I'm Dr. Matheson. It appears Michelle has gone into early labor. We're in there trying to stop it."

* * *

Okay, I'd write more, but I'm just about to leave for a week, so I will give you this chapter now. Enjoy, and remember to review. 


	6. Early Labor is a Pain in the Butt

Okie dokie people here is another chapter for you to read. I hope you like it and please review.

**Chapter 6: Early Labor is a Pain in the Butt  
**

Bo and Jesse hurriedly arrived at the hospital around the same time Daisy did. The first thing Daisy asked was about Luke's whereabouts. After explaining the situation to Daisy, they all made their way into the waiting room to find Cletus and Enos.

Enos was there, but Cletus had gone back to his car to grab a sandwich. "How's Michelle?" Bo asked. Enos sighed, concern etched all over his face.

"She went inta early labor," he explained. "Them doctors is tryin' ta stop it. They don't want anyone but Bo in there ta see her." Bo complied and wordlessly he left the waiting room.

"She's only seven months along," Daisy pointed out. "That baby prob'ly won't make it if them doctors can't stop it." Everyone nodded in agreement. That's when Cletus arrived back in the waiting room.

"Good," he said. "I'm glad ya'll made it. I jus' came back inside ta tell Enos I gotta git back out on patrol, and Rosco CB'd an' said you could take the rest a the day off."

Enos nodded. "Thanks Cletus," he told his fellow deputy before he left. The three sat around silently, Jesse by himself and Enos and Daisy nestled up to each other.

* * *

"Hey honey, see, I told you I'd be here," Bo blurted out as he rushed to Michelle's bedside. "Uncle Jesse bailed me out, just like I said." He flashed her his famous thousand-watt grin. "How ya doin'?" 

"How does it look like I'm doing?" Michelle commented nastily.

Bo opened his mouth to answer but changed his mind. Instead he just picked up Michelle's hand squeezed it between his fingers and said, "It's gonna be okay, you just wait."

"You don't know that!" Michelle screamed at him. "Don't say something if you don't know for sure!"

"Sorry sweetheart," Bo apologized. "I'm new at this, I ain't sure what I'm doin' or sayin'."

"It's okay," Michelle answered half-heartedly. She sighed. "I'm just scared."

"Me too, sweetheart," Bo admitted. That's when Dr. Matheson entered the room.

"You must be Bo Duke," he said. After receiving a nod of affirmation from the young blonde man, he continued. "The normal human gestation period is forty weeks, about nine and a half months. As of right now, Michelle is only about twenty-nine weeks along, not quite 75 percent. Your baby won't have high chances if it comes out today. It's mostly about thirty-five weeks before a mother can give birth to a healthy child."

Bo and Michelle exchanged nervous glances. They knew before this wasn't good, but they didn't quite know exactly how bad until now.

"Michelle's cervix is dilated one centimeter, and at ten centimeters is when the mother would start to push in a normal delivery. We managed to stop it from going any farther, but I want to keep Michelle here a few days to make sure it doesn't. When she is allowed to go home, she's gonna have to be on strict bed rest. She'll only be allowed to get up to use the bathroom and shower, but that's limited to no longer than ten minutes at a time, and minimal times a day. No lifting anything heavier than a large book."

Bo had to sit down. The news was overwhelming to him, and he wasn't sure how he could handle it. He wished Luke could be there with him; he wasn't used to handling things on his own. Luke always seemed to know how to make things better, but this time, he couldn't be there with him.

Yes, he could. Once Luke found out the situation, Bo was sure the eldest Duke cousin would help him so he could help his wife. Taking a shaky breath, Bo felt somewhat surged with the confidence to be there for Michelle. All he needed was something he knew he already had: Luke being there for him. Of course, it wouldn't hurt if Jesse and Daisy were there for him too, but Luke was the most important to him.

* * *

The next few days went by slowly for all Dukes. Bo didn't feel like working on his and Michelle's future home. Luke could sense something was wrong with the blonde cousin, other than being nervous about the baby. On the fourth night following Michelle's hospitalization, as the cousins lay in bed, Luke decided to confront his little cousin about what he was really thinking. 

"Come on Bo," he began. "I know you're not sleeping, so this would be the perfect time to talk to me." He watched as Bo sat up in bed and faced his bed.

"What do you wanna talk 'bout, Luke?" Bo asked.

"What's really botherin' ya?" Luke blurted out. He heard his cousin sigh. "Other than the obvious, that you're worried about your Michelle and the baby."

"I don't know if I'm ready for this," Bo admitted. "I can't settle down an' be a father. I ain't responsible enough. I mean, well ya know how we live. I'm not ready ta give all that up ta be a good father. I ain't ready ta settle down yet an' be responsible fer a helpless human life."

"Bo, yer gonna make a great father," Luke told him. "You can still do things almost the same, 'specially since yer jus' gonna be livin' right here on the farm. An' jus' cause yer havin' a baby don't mean Boss Hogg an' Rosco are gonna stop pinnin' things on us. So it's like ya ain't gonna have no choice but ta stay the same crazy, reckless Bo Duke ya've always been." He grinned and leaned over to ruffle Bo's hair. "'Sides, I betcha money that in fifteen years or so, they'll carry on the tradition on yer son or daughter an' yer just gonna have ta teach him or her all the same drivin' moves you know. Bo, you an' Michelle are gonna make great parents."

"I know Michelle's gonna make a great mom, but I ain't so sure 'bout me," Bo worried. "What if I do somethin' wrong that'll screw the kid up fer life?"

"I don' think ya will," Luke consoled. "Yer a Duke, which means yer gonna love them. Same with any kids ya git in the future. Believe me Bo, there ain't gonna be a more loved kid in all a Hazzard. You'll do jus' fine. If any help, don't hesitate ta ask Michelle."

Bo smiled. "Thanks Luke, yer a real pal," he half-joked.

* * *

After eleven days, Michelle was released from the hospital, on the same strict bed rest orders the doctor had previously mentioned. As one would expect, she wasn't very happy about it, and she was grouchy and demanding of Bo. She didn't take out her frustration on anybody except for Bo. However, Bo managed to keep Michelle entertained for about twenty percent of the time. 

Michelle, an avid Superman comic collector and movie fan, was kept entertained sometimes with those means. Bo borrowed the first three movies from Cooter, who had an incredibly large movie collection.

On the second day, Bo managed to get in some time to watch Superman II with his wife. They watched it in silence for a few moments before Michelle began a conversation.

"You know, I've always wanted to be like Lois Lane," she told Bo. "When I was a kid, I wanted to grow up and work for a newspaper, just cause she did. Then, I thought if I ever had a daughter I'd want to name her Lois."

"Ya would?" asked Bo. "What 'bout if it was a boy?"

"I'd name 'im after Jimmy Olsen," she said, with a sly smirk etched on her face. "We can call 'im Jim, though. James will go on his birth certificate."

Bo laughed. "Ya know, I ain't never thought 'bout what I'd name my kids until I found out I was gonna have a baby with ya."

"Now what do you think?" Michelle wondered.

"A girl, I'd like ta name Rochelle, that way, she won't have the same name as you, but I can still call ya both Shelly." He grinned, and Michelle imitated it. She even laughed. "An' fer a boy, I'd name 'im Hugh, after my daddy."

"Well, how about this. If it's a girl, it'll be Lois Rochelle Duke, and if it's a boy, it'll be Hugh James Duke," Michelle suggested. "I like those names."

"I like 'em, too," Bo said. "Perfect name fer a child with the perfect mom."

"Aww," Michelle cooed. "They'll have the perfect father, too. So I guess they'll just have the perfect parents." Bo nodded in agreement, before picking up her hand and planting a kiss on it.

* * *

Though Bo and Michelle shared a few moments dreaming of the day their baby would enter the world, bed rest was not all fun and games. Michelle often had mood swings worse than any other ones she had experienced through the first part of the pregnancy. Almost daily, she would pick some sort of fight with Bo. On one instance, the woman insisted that Bo let her see the new addition and it's progress, but Bo, not wanting to endanger the lives of his wife and his baby, said no, it would only hurt, not help. Michelle rewarded him with a week-long silent treatment. 

Finally, on her seventh week of bed rest, and her thirty-sixth week of pregnancy, Michelle was let off bedrest and was allowed to go one with life until she went into normal labor. It only took six hours after being declared free for the labor pains to show up.

That day, Michelle and Daisy had volunteered to bake a few pies for the Hazzard High School's baseball team on that early May afternoon. Bo escorted the two women to the baseball diamond, this time never going over the speed limit.

During the top of the 6th inning, the Hazzard Huskies were leading the Chickasaw Wildcats 7 to 5. Bo, Daisy, and Michelle were all avidly cheering on Hazzard.

"Come on, ya'll can git 'em out!" Bo rooted.

"Just one more strike!" Daisy hollered.

"You guys can do, ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh," Michelle began. Out of the corner of his eye, Bo could see Michelle slump forward as the pitcher, Jake Piedra, pitched strike number three to end the inning. Bo immediately turned to see if his wife was okay.

"Michelle? Honey? What' s goin' on?"

"Now I'm in labor," Michelle explained. "Real labor. Labor that is normal and where the baby will actually come out."

"Already? Ya just got off bedrest . . ." Bo stammered.

"That's why I'm not on bedrest anymore," Michelle said.

* * *

A/N: There ya have it, another chapter! Be sure to review! 


	7. The Real Thing

A/N: Hey everybody! Are you impressed with the swiftness of this update? Okay, well, I'm not sure the tissue warning will be necessary here, but it definately will be next chapter. Things are fixing to come to a head here, and now is where this story really starts to fit the nice summary I wrote for it. So please review, and to all you Americans out there, Happy Fourth of July!

**Chapter 7: The Real Thing**

Daisy and Bo helped Michelle back to the General Lee. After noticing their pie caterers were leaving, one of the assistant coaches, Mike Baylor, helped them by getting the jackets and other random items they almost left behind and loading them into the General's truck. After thanking Mike for his help, they sped away from the game.

Michelle's obstetrician, Dr. Jensen, wasn't too surprised to see her there in labor so soon after declaring her free of bedrest. In fact, he was expecting her. He led her and Bo into a delivery room, while Daisy made the necessary phone calls. Within the hour, Jesse and Luke had joined them.

The three in the waiting room waited in anticipation for the arrival of the baby. Their chatter was minimal; they mostly kept their thoughts to themselves. Though occaisonally they struck up a small conversation.

"I'm gonna be a great uncle fer the first time," Jesse commented.

"An' me an' Luke are gonna be second cousins," Daisy added.

"Daisy, we may as well jus' call ourselves aunt 'n' uncle," Luke told her. "That's pretty much how we're gonna be. I think we's gonna make a fine aunt 'n' uncle, and Uncle Jesse, yer gonna be more like a grandpa than anythin' else."

"Tha's the truth," Jesse proclaimed. "An' Bo 'n' Michelle are gonna make great parents."

"Well they'll have us ta help, too," said Daisy. Luke and Jesse both nodded in agreement.

"Is anybody hungry?" Luke wondered. "I'm starving. I think I'm gonna get a sandwich at the cafeteria or somethin'."

"I'll go with you," Daisy said. "Ya comin', Uncle Jesse?"

Jesse shook his head. "Someone should stay here in case Bo comes a-lookin' fer us. Bring me back somethin', though." Luke and Daisy nodded, before heading down to the hospital cafeteria.

* * *

After a few hours in the delivery room, Bo had to come out for a break. He spotted Jesse, Luke, and Daisy sitting silently in the waiting room and went over to them. 

"Hey ya'll," he greeted. "Had ta come out fer a break. It's real noisy an' stressful in there."

Luke chuckled. "Hey, Bo, you look real funny in that goofy hat thing and yer doc smocks." Bo was wearing the customary outfit for almost dads.

He laughed, too. "Ya like my surgical mask?" he asked, holding up the mask that rested around his neck. "Maybe I should wear this fer the next Halloween party at the Boar's Nest. This'll make a good costume, don't ya'll think? Don't I look like a real doctor?"

Luke sniggered. "Naw, you just look like you in a doctor's suit. Just like a man whose wife's about to give birth. 'Sides, if you were my doctor--no, wait, ya wouldn't be. I'd never have _you _as my doc."

"Cute," said Bo.

"Well, Bo, yer the first one of us ta be in one a them there rooms," Jesse pointed out. "What's it like in there?"

"Like I said, it's loud. Shelly's been screamin' so loud from the pain I'm surprised I ain't deaf yet. Plus, she's been a-squeezin' my hand so hard durin' them contractions I think she done broke it, an' she's been yellin' at me every time I make a little teensy suggestion, sayin' 'Oh, Bo, you don't know anything about this, you've never given birth before, have you?' Yeah, that about covers it."

"In other words, it's terrible," said Jesse.

Bo nodded. "Can't wait till it's over an' I'm actually a daddy. Then when we have another child, I won't be alone in there." The other Dukes laughed. That's when Nora, a nurse came out and ushered Bo back into the delivery room, saying that Michelle wanted to see him.

When he went back in, Dr. Jensen reminded them about how the delivery would go, even filling them in on some gruesome details he had left out before. He told them it wouldn't be long now, another hour or so and they'd be parents. Michelle and Bo sighed and smiled at each other.

The next forty-five minutes passed rather slowly, and Michelle had more painful contractions than ever. Finally, at 3:20 that afternoon, Dr. Jensen announced it was time to deliver the baby.

Bo couldn't recollect much of the next few minutes as he looked back on them later; he mostly just knew there was a lot of screaming and pain, not just for Michelle, but for Bo, too as his hand was squashed harder than ever. He remembered the God-awful yet completely beautiful sight of the baby's head emerging from Michelle's cervix, and how slimy it looked. Blood, he also remembered blood. As Dr. Jensen aided the baby along as Michelle pushed it out, it was silent, but seconds after it was out, it let out a cry.

Michelle sat breathing heavily for a few moments, and Dr. Jensen looked over the baby nearby. "Looks like you guys have a healthy baby girl," he announced proudly.

"Yeeeeeee-haaaaaaaaaw!" Bo exclaimed loudly, grinning widely. "Ya hear that, Shelly? We got ourselves a daughter! An' she ain't datin' till she's 25."

That's when the machine monitoring Michelle's heart flatlined!

Dr. Jensen and a few nurses rushed over to the new mother to try and decipher the problem. Nora the nurse pulled Bo back and tried to pull him out of the room.

"Now listen Bo," Nora began. "We're gonna do everythin' we can for Michelle. But you have ta wait outside."

Bo shook his head in disbelief. "No, I cain't leave 'er! I have ta stay with 'er!"

"Bo, we'll tell you what happens," Nora said as she practically shoved Bo out the door. After the door was shut in his face, Bo backed against the wall and slid down, tears streaming down his face. He had just earned a daughter, but he may have lost his wife in the process.

* * *

Okay, ya'll there you have it. Please review, and don't count on me updating so fast next time.  



	8. Beginnings and Ends

A/N: Hey guys, I'm back again. First of all, sorry about Trouble at the Boar's Nest, I'm having trouble figuring out where I'm going. It's not easy when you kill a character, which I seem to be doing a lot of lately.

A tissue warning is definately advised for this chapter. Hope you enjoy anyways, and please review!

**Chapter Eight: Beginnings and Ends**

Bo didn't move for a few minutes, instead he just sat there, silently sobbing across from the room where his wife was fighting for her life. When no one updated him after five minutes, he pulled himself to his feet and slowly wandered aimlessly out to the waiting room. He needed more than anything to be with the comfort of his family right then. Truth to be told, he didn't know if he would be able to face anything that would happen, even with Jesse, Luke, and Daisy right there with him. But he knew they would help at least a little, so he made it out to the waiting room.

At first, no one noticed the silent tears making tracks down Bo's face. Luke saw his younger cousin and smiled. "Hey, Bo, we could hear that yee-haw from all the way out here. Guess the baby was born, is it a boy or a--" he stopped in his tracks as he finally looked at Bo's miserable face. "What's the matter, Bo? Is it the baby?"

Bo shook his head. "Nah, it's Shelly." His voice cracked on his wife's name. "I ain't sure what's wrong, I just know her heart stopped." He fell silent. Luke didn't say anything; he just pulled the broken man and pulled him into a fierce hug.

"It'll be okay, Bo," Jesse cut in. He stood up to join the embrace, and Daisy did the same. Now locked in a strong family hug, Bo knew it would be okay. Michelle would be all right, and they could be a happy family.

That hope was short lived.

* * *

"Bo?" came the voice of Dr. Jensen. 

Bo looked up from the floor, giving his full attention to the doctor. As he looked at the other man's face, he couldn't tell by looking what had happened. He waited rather impatiently for the doctor to continue, Luke, Jesse, and Daisy sitting right with him.

"She lost more blood than in a normal delivery," Dr. Jensen continued. "We did a blood transfusion, but . . ." he trailed off. He sighed before starting again. "I'm sorry. We lost her."

Bo couldn't move. He was completely trapped. He simply sat staring at the doctor for a few moments, oblivious to the calls of his family. He wasn't sure if he was breathing, or if his heart was beating. The man didn't have a clue what was going on, and he couldn't for the life of him figure out what the doctor had just told him. He couldn't think, he couldn't move, he couldn't hear, he couldn't even see.

Then it hit him. His wife had died. His beautiful wife, the love of his life, the mother of his child was dead. Child . . . oh dear. How could he possibly raise their child on his own? He finally looked down to the floor. He couldn't be a father, not now! There was no mother, just him. He would screw her life up! He took a few shaky breaths and attempted to gather his thoughts. The next thing he knew, Jesse was holding Bo in his arms in safe reassurance. Okay, he wasn't completely alone. He had his family to help him with the child, but for how long? It seemed to him if he could get married and have a child, it would only be a matter of time before the others did, too. There wouldn't be room for three families plus Uncle Jesse, so Daisy and Luke would have to move out. And Jesse was getting older, who knew how long he had before . . . No, he wouldn't let himself think that. He needed to organize his thoughts, they were so jumbled up.

It took him several minutes to figure out he was crying. Luke finally wiped his cheek. Once he knew, he let out a few long, heart-wrenching sobs. Jesse held him and let him cry, and Luke and Daisy were right there, too.

"'S all right Bo," Jesse consoled. "'S gonna be okay. You'll see. We's ain't goin' nowheres Bo, we's right here with ya."

Bo cried himself to sleep, right there in the chair. Jesse held him tight the whole time, though Bo's sleep was short. His dream was haunted with a flashback.

* * *

_The sun shone in the sky, a big ball of glowing fire. Bo slowed the General down to a stop, and he and a non-pregnant Michelle hopped out of each side. They smiled radiantly at each other, as Michelle reached in the back and pulled a picnic basket out. Hand in hand, they half-skipped to a clear spot near Hazzard Pond. The pair threw the checkered cloth and spread it on the ground. Michelle gently set the basket down before sitting down herself. Bo followed her lead and sat down._

_They ate in silence for a moment, before the quiet got to Bo. _

_"Ya like that chicken?" he asked her. "Daisy made it herself."_

_"She did a good job," Michelle commented. "I can't cook worth a lick." _

_"That's all right," Bo said. "You're perfect in every other way." _

_Michelle just smiled sheepishly, and gnawed on her chicken bone. "I know," she said. "I picked you for my boyfriend, didn't I?"_

_Bo felt himself turn beet red. "Well, thanks, darlin', but don't give yerself that kinda credit. Cause I thought I picked you." _

_An awkward silence followed. Finally Bo worked up the courage to tell her something he had never told a girl before. Taking a deep breath, Bo said, "Michelle, ya know, I love ya."_

_This time it was her turn to turn beet red. She was quiet for a few moments, making Bo nervous, before she said, "I love you too, Bo." She patted him on the back and kissed him on the cheek. There were no more awkward silences for the rest of the meal._

_

* * *

_"I still love ya, Michelle!" Bo cried out. Snapping his eyes open, he focused them on Uncle Jesse, who was rubbing his shoulder soothingly. The blonde sat up abruptly, trembling. Jesse moved his hand to Bo's back and began rubbing that.

"Was it a dream, Uncle Jesse?" Bo asked innocently, sounding much like a small child. Jesse's heart broke at how miserable his nephew sounded. "Please tell me it was a dream."

Jesse shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry Bo, I wish I could tell ya it was all a dream. But it weren't. I'm real sorry, Bo." He pulled his nephew in for a tight hug.

Off to the side, Luke and Daisy shared a hug, too.

Daisy had just lost her new best friend. Throughout her life at the farm, she always loved her family, and she never felt left out. But she always felt something was missing, especially after Jesse's late wife Martha passed away. She wished there had been another girl on the farm. When Michelle and Bo got married, her wish came true, and Daisy and Michelle became fast friends. But that had all been snatched away in just a few moments.

"Now what?" she forced out to her older cousin.

Luke shrugged. "I ain't sure, Daisy," he answered quietly. He was staring at his youngest cousin, wrapped in their uncle's embrace. "Bo's takin' this real hard."

"Well, of course he is!" Daisy exclaimed. "His wife just died in childbirth, Luke, of course he's gonna be takin' it hard! Wouldn't you?"

Luke nodded. "I guess I would," he admitted. "Just wish there was somethin' I could do."

"I know," Daisy said. "Me too."

* * *

The clear glass served as the only barrier between Bo and his new daughter. He stared sadly in at her, before he felt a hand on his shoulder. He whirled around to find Luke standing there. The older cousin gave a sympathetic smile to him. 

"Gotta name for 'er yet?" Luke said.

Bo nodded. "I'd like ta name 'er Michelle, but Michelle wanted her ta be called Lois, so I'll name 'er Lois. Her middle name will be Michelle, though."

"Lois Michelle Duke," Luke announced. "I like it, Bo."

The nurse recognized as Nora, who was inside the maternity ward, grabbed a baby and stepped outside.

"Hey Bo," she greeted. "Does your pretty little daughter have a name yet?"

Bo nodded as he had done with Luke. "Lois Michelle Duke." Nora nodded and looked at the baby she was holding, presumably Lois.

"Can I hold her?" Bo asked softly. Nora nodded, and picked Lois up and handed her to her father.

Luke wasn't sure what happened to his baby cousin. He noticed how Bo was completely different with the baby than he had ever seen. He seemed so . . . gentle. Careful. Bo had never been this subtle, especially with a girl. Luke smiled as he realized how much the younger man had grown up just in the last few hours. Bo seemed to understand he was responsible for a human life. It seemed to come completely natural to him.

"Lois," Bo cooed, and Luke noticed a tear flowed down his cheek. "Ya look too much like yer mom." He fell silent.

"'Cept fer that tiny strand a blonde hair," Luke commented. "That's yer hair, Bo."

Bo smiled a small smile, causing Luke to grin, since that was the first time Bo had smiled since he had received the devastating news of his wife.

"She does have my hair, don't she?" said Bo. He chewed his bottom lip, holding back a sob. "Here Luke, can you take 'er?" His voiced cracked. Luke held out his arms open to his niece.

"Hey Lois," Luke said. "I'm your uncle Luke. Ya don't hafta call me uncle, but the man out there with the white beard, Uncle Jesse, ya gotta call him uncle." He smiled.

He heard footsteps walking away, and he looked up to see his cousin heading down the hall, away from the maternity ward. He handed Lois back to Nora and headed down the hall to find his cousin, wondering what was up now.

* * *

Okay guys, that's the chapter. You know what to do now! (hint, there's a little window down in the corner that says submit review, and a button next to it that says go, so click the go button!) 


	9. Adventures in Babysitting

**Chapter Nine: Adventures in Babysitting  
**

Luke found Bo sitting unmoving in the driver's seat of the General Lee. He was staring at the dashboard.

He slid in the passenger window next to Bo. The younger man made no notice that Luke was there. Luke playfully punched his shoulder, and smiled at him. "What's wrong, Bo? Come on, you can talk to me."

Bo looked his cousin directly in the eye, and the gaze was so powerful, Luke had to look away. He had never seen that broken hearted look in his eyes before, and it felt to Luke as if he had been stabbed in the heart with a knife and had it twisted several times.

"I can't do this," said Bo. "I can't be a daddy, how'm I supposed ta take care of a helpless infant when I can't even take care of myself?" He sighed and leaned back in his chair.

Luke sighed, too. "Don't worry Bo, ya ain't alone in this. Me an' Daisy an' Uncle Jesse are gonna help ya with whatever ya need, all right? 'Sides, ya shoulda seen how good ya were with Lois back there. I've said it before, an' I'll say it again. Yer gonna be a great dad. Don't ya trust me?"

"Yeah, I trust ya . . ." Bo answered. "But I still don't know . . ."

"Well, if ya trust me, then believe me when I tell ya yer gonna be the best daddy Hazzard County's ever seen, okay?"

Bo opened his mouth to protest, but a stern look from Luke caused him to shut it and nod instead.

* * *

Anyone who was a friend to the Dukes showed up at Michelle's funeral, which added up to nearly the whole county. Even Boss Hogg showed up for the somber occasion, all decked out in a black suit. Mostly he went because Lulu forced him. But all the same, he showed up, and the Dukes were pleasantly surprised at that. A few other family members, such as Coy and Vance, Jeb Stuart Duke, a couple of cousins on Bo's mother's side of the family showed up, though none had ever met Michelle. 

The ceremony was pretty typical for a funeral, the same preacher, Reverend Gerralds, who performed Bo's and Michelle's wedding not even six months ago performed this service. It rained that day, as if the Weather Gods were joining Bo and the others in mourning over the death.

Dr. Jensen had allowed Lois to come home after a week, the day before the funeral. However, the Dukes knew it wasn't a good idea to bring a newborn infant out into the rain, so together Cletus and Cooter volunteered to stay at the farm and watch over her, though neither of them knew anything about taking care of babies. Lucky for them, when the family arrived home, the now youngest Duke was still alive.

It turned about to be a pretty comical experience for the two men being left alone with a tiny infant girl.

Cooter emerged from the kitchen with a warmed up bottle in hand. Cletus had Lois perched on the footstool as he sat in Jesse's chair. He was dressing her in a one piece pajama outfit.

"Cletus," Cooter grinned. "Somethin' don' look right 'bout them jammies."

Sure enough, Lois's legs were stuck through the arms, and vice-versa. The head hole stuck out between her legs, and her head came through the butt-pouch with the buttons undone.

Cletus didn't notice this, however. He cocked his head questioningly. "Yer right, somethin's wrong. But I don't know what it is."

Cooter studied the outfit for a moment. He chuckled, and that slowly mutated into a loud laugh. "Cletus, ya got the thang on upside down. Take them jammies off that poor child and let _me_ do it." He shook his head as Cletus stripped Lois of her outfit.

The pair managed to get Lois's outfit on upright and immediately decided the second way was the correct way. After much fumbling around, Cooter also got Lois to drink out of the bottle.

Lois's crib temporarily lay in the living room, since even though the addition had long since been completed, Bo didn't want to move in there yet. He knew eventually he'd have to, because Lois couldn't sleep in the living room forever, she'd have to get her own room sometime.

After she was fed, Cletus lay Lois down in her crib, leaving him and Cooter time to rest for awhile. Each of them dozed off, but were awakened startlingly by a loud, sharp cry.

"It's the baby," Cooter said groggily, not moving a muscle. "Wonder what she wants?"

"Dunno," Cletus replied, also sleepily. He breathed in, and immediatley coughed. "I think I know. She needs to be . . ." he looked around the room, " . . . changed."

Cooter went wide-eyed. "Uh-oh. Now what do we do?" Cletus shrugged in response, and they both stood up. "Uh, Cletus, you stay here. I'm gonna find the diapers."

Cletus was about to protest against that, but Cooter was already gone. "Could ya at least stop cryin'? That's all I ask . . . please?" Unfortunately for Cletus, the crying did not cease, even when Cooter came back with the baby changing supplies. "Okay, Cooter, now what do we do?"

"Um, well . . ." Cooter began. "Uh, I guess we should take the yucky diaper off of her. Why don't you pull down on it, and pull it down her legs, just like a pair of pants?"

"Why me?" Cletus wondered.

"Because I went to get the stuff, now take it off!" Cooter said.

After removing Lois's pajamas, Cletus pulled the diaper off, and both men immediately grimaced on how the smell had strongly worsened. It looked like Lois had pooped. Neither of them knew what to do next. Finally, Cooter had an idea.

"Hey, why don't we think about this like the way we go to the bathroom?" he suggested. "After we go, what do we do?"

"Wipe," Cletus answered. Cooter nodded, and Cletus smiled. He looked around the room. "But we don't got anything ta wipe her off with." Neither man saw the pack of baby wipes underneath the diaper pack.

Cooter went into the kitchen to look for paper towels, but found none. Cletus did the same for toilet paper and had no luck. They met back in the living room to formulate a plan. Cletus was the first with an idea.

"What if we take her outside and use the hose on her?" he said, grinning hopefully.

Cooter thought for a moment before smiling himself. "That could work. Then we could just use a bath towel ta dry her off. You get some towels, I'll go turn the hose on." They were both outside and ready before they realized they forgot something . . . Lois. They both went back in to fetch her.

Outside, they were trying to figure out the best way to do that without getting themselves wet. Cletus suggested they get into their bathing suits, but Cooter reminded him that they didn't have their bathing suits. Finally, they decided Cooter would hold her while Cletus sprayed. Cooter would hold her out to his side so Cletus would get her wet without getting Cooter wet.

Unfortunately, that was short lived. Cletus turned on the hose, not realizing the nozzle was pointed straight at Cooter. Cooter was drenched in the liquid.

"Cletus!" Cooter shouted angrily. "Now look what ya done!" Cletus shrugged apologetically, and proceeded to spray Lois's naked butt. They wet her, dried her, and slipped the new diaper on before reattaching her pajamas. Cooter, hoping Luke wouldn't mind, took some of the other man's clothes and put them on to replace his wet ones.

When the Dukes arrived back, their somber mood was lifted slightly as they heard about Cooter and Cletus's experience with babysitting. Even Bo had a slight smile on his face after learning about it. Afterwards, though, the new father spent a few minutes checking over his daughter to make sure she was okay before dismissing the babysitters.

"Hey Cooter," Luke said as they were walking out the door. "Nice shirt, where'd ya git it?" He was grinning.

Cooter grinned back. "From yer dresser." Luke laughed, and Bo even snickered from across the room. "See ya'll."

"Bye Cooter," Bo and Luke said in unison.

* * *

Okay, another chapter come and gone. I had to put in a humorous one, since I was even depressing myself with it.

I figure now I'll do a couple of chapters for each stage of life or whatever that Lois meets, and how Bo is a father, so I figure next chapter I'll skip a couple of months in the future. What do you guys think? If you have an idea that's better than mine, speak now or forever hold your peace. Please review.


	10. Fatherhood

Okay, back with another chapter! I hope you enjoy it. I'm going to camp tomorrow (Wednesday) and I'll be back really late on Sunday night. I'm posting five different things today, that way when I get back my email inbox will have a lot of emails. I did that once and it's quite fun. So you guys review. By the way, my review goal for the story I just finished, Trouble at the Boar's Nest, was 100 reviews. I ended up with 99, isn't that sad? So if you would, one of you people here should review to it and make me happier. Now on to this story . . .

**Chapter 10: Fatherhood**

After six months, Bo had yet to be left completely alone on the farm with Lois. All three of the other Dukes, but especially Daisy, helped him out with the baby. Daisy had fallen in love with the child and treated her as if she were the mother. Bo didn't mind this, because he didn't feel too comfortable with being alone. Luke and Jesse also loved Lois as if she were there own child (well Jesse as more of a grandchild), but Daisy seemed to take total control.

But one day, after six months, Daisy was working at the Boar's Nest, and Jesse needed help with picking up some fertilizer in Capitol City. It was time to put Bo's parenting to the test, so Jesse took Luke to Capitol City. Bo was finally left alone with Lois for a few hours.

After feeding Lois, he lay her down in the crib. He had yet to move himself and Lois to the addition, which housed two bedrooms and a bathroom, but he planned to do it within the next few months or so. It had a door which connected into the living room, so he and Luke had had to remove the window that had been there and replace it with a door.

Sinking down into Uncle Jesse's favorite chair, Bo sighed. It wasn't easy being a father, but he was beginning to get used to it. Suddenly, he was surged with a newborn confidence that he could do this. He could raise Lois to be a good girl. He could be a good dad, the kind that Lois would grow up to love and respect. Of course, he knew the teenage years would be wild, just as Daisy's had. He guessed it was a girl thing.

So when Lois started crying, Bo knew he could handle whatever the girl needed. He lept to his feet and over to the crib.

Smelling the air, he decided she didn't need changing. He had just fed her, so she wasn't hungry. He chalked it up to her just being tired and wanting her dad to help her fall asleep. He picked her up and sat down with her in the rocking chair in which his Uncle Jesse and Aunt Martha had used to sing him to sleep when he was a baby.

He sang a couple soothing songs, and he could tell Lois was almost asleep. In fact, he was close to dozing off himself. He was awakened by a painful sounding cough. He opened his eyes and panicked when the coughing didn't cease.

Suddenly, Lois let out the biggest cough of all, followed by a spew of barf emerging from her mouth, landing all over Bo's shirt and pants. He didn't seem to care, though. He was more concerned about his daughter.

"Lois, ya all right there, darlin'?" he asked, although he knew she wouldn't answer. Instinctively, he ran his hand over her forehead, eyes growing wide when he found it warmer than usual. He stood up and set the baby back down in her crib and quickly grabbed the thermometer. He put it in her armpit as Daisy had shown him how to do in cases like this one. As Daisy had instructed, Bo waited 2 minutes before reaching for the thermometer.

"Hundred 'n' one," Bo commented. "Aww, dang it! Now what?" He angrily threw the thermometer down on the table. He decided to do the only thing he knew would work for now: call Daisy and ask for adivce.

* * *

Daisy sighed, not able to shake the feeling that something wasn't quite right at home. She tried to ignore it and focus on the waitressing. She noticed Cooter sitting down at a nearby table and decided he might be able to make her relax. 

"Hey there, Cooter," she greeted as cheerfully as she could. "How ya doin'?"

"Everythin's goin' just fine," Cooter replied. "Just stopped by for some lunch. How 'bout ya take my order?"

Daisy grinned. "Well, I could. What would ya like?"

Cooter's answer was stopped short by Jerry the bartender.

"Daisy, you have a phone call!" he called out. Daisy excused herself to go to the phone. "It's Bo," Jerry went on. "He sounds kind of upset."

"Thanks Jerry," Daisy said. She turned her attention to the phone. "Hey there, Bo, what's wrong? Jerry says ya sound a little upset."

"Daisy, Lois is sick," Bo announced. "What do I do? Oh, I knew I wan't ready ta try an' take care of 'er by myself. I don't have the slightest idea what to do with a sick baby. She was fine an hour ago, what's wrong with 'er?"

"Now Bo, calm down," Daisy soothed. "Did ya take her temperature?"

"Yeah, it's 101, Daisy!"

"Is she coughin' any? What are her symptoms?"

"Yeah, she's coughin', an' she threw up all over me, too. That's about it."

"Why don't ya try givin' 'er a little cough medicine?" Daisy suggested. "I ain't sure how much ta give a baby, but it should say on the back of the bottle. Give it to 'er, an' see if she can keep it down. Don't try ta feed 'er. Does she have diarrhea?" Jerry gave her a strange look, as if to say "Hey, there are people eating in this place!"

"She hasn't gone to the bathroom yet," Bo said. "I don't know."

"Well, if she can keep any cough medicine down, try puttin' just a little orange juice in her bottle an' see if she can keep that down, all right Bo?" Bo consented. "If ya have any more problems, don't hesitate ta call me. An' ya might even wanna call Doc Applebee and see if he has any suggestions."

"Thanks Daisy, I'll do that." Bo sounded a little relieved now. "An' I'll call ya if she gets worse. Thanks a lot, Daisy." The two hung up, leaving Bo to take care of his daughter, and Daisy to take care of the customers.

* * *

After hanging up with Daisy, Bo dialed the number to the town doctor. Doc Applebee told him about the same things Daisy had. He hung up feeling a little more confident in what to do, but still felt imcompetent as a father. 

He read the directions on the back of the medicine bottle for infants, and prepared the correct dosage. Carefully, he carried the spoon of medicine over to Lois without spilling. He made several attempts to get his daughter to take the medicine, to no avail.

"Come _on_, Lois, just take it!" Bo cried angrily. "It ain't that bad, just take it!" But Lois would not open her mouth, no matter what her father did. The young man was just about to give up when he heard the door open and shut. Uncle Jesse and Luke had arrived home from Capitol City, much to Bo's relief.

"Hey Bo," Luke greeted. "How you guys doin'?"

"Terrible," Bo answered bitterly. "Lois is sick, and I can't get 'er ta take the medicine. I was right, I can't do this, I'm a horrible father, I-"

"Bo, stop right there," Luke said. "Uncle Jesse, can you take care of Lois while I have a word with Bo?" Jesse nodded his consent, and shooed Bo out of the way so he could pick Lois up. Luke led Bo outside and pushed his shoulders so he sat down on the porch steps.

"Bo, you ain't a bad father," Luke told him. "It happens. Every child gets sick one time or other, and in my opinion, yer doin' somethin' right if she don't like medicine," he joked.

When he got a small smile out of Bo, Luke chuckled and playfully slapped Bo's shoulder.

"See?" he said. "You know you agree with me, you just won't admit it." He still wore a small smile. "Bo, I think it might be time fer you and Lois ta move in to the addition. I can't say I ain't gonna miss ya, I really am. We've been sharin' a room forever, but Lois needs ya more than I do."

"I was thinkin' just the opposite," Bo replied.

Luke nodded in understanding. "Well, Bo, believe me, yer ready, an' so is Lois. I'll help ya move this weekend, okay?"

Bo consented. "I guess. I trust ya ta give me good advice, so I guess I will move this weekend." He got up and headed inside to tend to his sick daughter.

Luke watched through the window as Bo took control of his daughter. It looked like Uncle Jesse hadn't had any luck with the medicine either. He sighed, knowing he had just made a large personal sacrifice for his cousin. He figured Bo was ready to move across the house, but Luke didn't think he was ready to quit sharing a room with him. But, he recognized that Bo was ready, and he knew he had to do what was best for his little cousin. Still, he was going to miss sharing a room with Bo.

* * *

Okay folks, another chapter gone and done. Why are those two words spelled almost the same, yet the vowel sound is different? Okay, I don't know where that came from . . . anyways, please review, and I'll update as soon as I can. Like I said, I'm going to camp tomorrow, and I won't be able to work on anything until Monday morning. So fill up my email inbox, please! 


	11. Changes

Okay, people, I'm sorry for the slow update. Some chapters write themselves, and some, namely this one, don't. I've been working on and off with this one. It's pretty boring, I know, but it's really just to inform you of what's happening in their lives. So read, review, and forgive me for not updating sooner. I'll do better next time, I promise.

**Chapter 11: Changes**

The whole family, plus Enos and Cooter, moved Bo into the new addition that weekend. Bo was still nervous about it, but it wasn't like he was moving across the country, just across the house. The process took that whole Saturday, and that would be Bo's first night in his new home, or room or whatever.

Bo closed the door to his new area of the Duke homestead, and sat down on the couch that Cooter had given him. Lois was safely tucked away in her new room, and Bo took the opportunity to catch up on some much needed sleep. Lois, although now she was better, had required much care and attention from her father at night while she was sick.

He was pulled from his dreamless sleep a while later when she heard a shriek coming from the main area of the house. He ran into the living room as fast as he could, only to find Daisy jumping into Enos's outstretched arms. Luke, Cooter, and Jesse stood off to the side, smiling.

"What's goin' on?" Bo asked. Nobody paid any attention to the confused man's question.

"Oh, Enos!" Daisy cried.

"I'll take that as a yes," Enos said, laughing.

"Please do!" Daisy told him. "It is a yes! That's exactly what that is!"

"Hello?" Bo said. "What's goin' on?"

Finally Daisy noticed her younger cousin asking what was happening. "Enos asked me ta marry 'im!" she exclaimed.

"'Bout time, too," Cooter commented. "I was beginnin' ta think he'd never ask 'er. I was thinkin' Daisy was gonna grow up ta be an ol' maid."

"Oh, Cooter," Daisy said, in a scolding manner.

"Well, anyways, congratulations guys!" Bo said, grinning.

"Glad ya feel that way, Bo," Enos said, "cause I was hopin' ya'd be my best man. An' Luke an' Cooter would be groomsmen, along with Cletus."

"I'd be glad too," Bo said. In truth, he was touched that Enos gave him the honor of being the best man. He was sure that would go to Cletus, or even Rosco. Cooter and Luke also told Enos they would be groomsmen.

"Great, now I'll be the only one in this family who's never been married," Luke pointed out. "An' I'm the oldest cousin!"

"Well, I ain't married now," Bo told him sadly.

"Yeah, but you've _been _married," Luke said. That's when he noticed the hurt look on his youngest cousin's face. He mentally kicked himself. "I'm sorry, Bo, I wasn't thinkin'."

Bo managed a small smile. "It's all right, Luke."

Daisy leaned against Bo and pulled him in for a hug. He smiled and kissed the top of her head.

* * *

A few months later, not too long before Lois's first birthday, was the day of Enos and Daisy's wedding. It was a beautiful ceremony, considerably outdoing Bo and Michelle's shotgun wedding just over a year earlier. 

Jesse gave Daisy away, and tears welled in his eyes. Daisy's maid of honor was Sue Ann Payton, a bridesmaid in Bo's wedding. Mary Beth Ramsey was also a bridesmaid, along with two more friends, Jamie Newman and Emma Cochrane. Becky Lee Ramsey wasn't the flowergirl this time, because she was visiting her cousins in Chickasaw. Instead, Bo carried his daughter down the aisle, and they threw flowers together. Once they got to the end, Lois was handed to Uncle Jesse as he sat in the front pew of the church.

Lois as flower girl was a last minute thing, so while it wasn't perfect, it was the best thing they could come up with. She did an ideal job for a baby. She didn't cry, which would've made the already stressed out Daisy even more tense.

Luke found himself interested in Jamie after noticing how incredibly beautiful she looked in her bridesmaid dress. Cooter was still hopelessly in love with Sue Ann, but unfortunately, she had a steady boyfriend now, a guy Cooter had always hated, but especially now that he was with Sue Ann.

Luke was awarded the pleasure of a dance with Jamie during the reception, and Bo half-heartedly danced with Emma. It was the first time he had socialized with a woman since Michelle passed away nearly a year before.

Bo was having a hard time getting over the death of his wife. The rest of the Dukes figured it was because it had all been sudden, and even that Lois reminded of that tragic event. Bo felt bad because he knew Lois's first birthday was two weeks away on May 4, and he was afraid the sadness of the anniversary of Michelle's death would overshadow the happiness of his daughter's birthday.

* * *

Enos had lived in a three bedroom house just outside of town, and now Daisy was to move in with him. Lois's surrogate mother was now out of the house, and Bo took on more responsibility than ever before. 

It wasn't long before Luke was getting serious with Jamie Newman. They seemed to go out every night, reminding Bo of how he used to do the same with Michelle. That was when he finally came to the realization that he had been so busy trying to get the hang of being a father, that he hadn't really greived the loss of his wife, even if it had now been over a year since her death.

Lois's first birthday had been a success. The baby had failed in getting most of the cake in her mouth; instead she got it everywhere else. That's when Bo realized it wouldn't be long before his daughter would soon be a walking, talking mistress of distruction around the house.


	12. Letting Go

Though I was out of town all week, it wasn't for anything fun so I worked on this. I hope you enjoy it. Personally, I kinda like this chapter myself. Review and tell me what you think of it.

**Chapter 12: Letting Go  
**

_Four years later . . ._

"Daddy!" came a young girl's voice screaming into the Dukes' living room, penetrating the peaceful silence that hung in the air. Bo smiled at Jesse, anticipating what his five-year-old daughter wanted to play this time. Her favorite game to date was (interestingly enough) sitting on Bo's back pretending he was a racecar and she was a driver.

Bo's grin widened as Lois bounded into the room, her favorite stuffed animal in hand. The worn out bear had once been Michelle's, and they had dug it out of the attic in her old house when they found out she was pregnant. Michelle called the toy Larry, but Lois renamed the stuffed animal Mr. Teddy.

"What am I gonna do in Kindergarten?" Lois asked. The next day, she was to begin school at Hazzard Elementary. Bo dreaded that day, it would be the first time he would leave Lois alone for several hours at a time. Of course Kindergarten was only half a day, but the concept was unnerving to the father. He wondered what he would do when Lois was all grown up and moved out of the house. Then again, he never moved out, so maybe Lois wouldn't either.

Daisy and Enos gave birth to their first child two years before; a boy the dubbed Charles Jesse Strate, Charles after Enos's deceased father and Jesse after Uncle Jesse. Luke had indeed gotten very serious with Jamie Newman, so no one was surprised when he married her the past Christmas season. Jamie was already three months pregnant with a child. They stayed at the farm, having the extra room that had once been Daisy's.

Lois loved hanging out with her younger cousin Charlie. She was excited when he was born. Daisy had the ideal pregnancy with no complications. So far, Jamie was having a good pregnancy, too. Bo never admitted it, but he was jealous of Enos because his wife was there to enjoy their child.

"Well," Bo said, as Jesse went outside to leave Bo alone with his daughter, "you're gonna have fun. You're gonna make lotsa new friends and play with them all day. Yer gonna impress everyone cause I already taught ya yer ABC's and since ya can already read like a big girl. An' ya might even play a mean trick on a boy that you'll grow up an' marry."

"Is that what happened to you?" Lois wondered. Bo looked at her, puzzled. "Did my mommy play a mean trick on you when you was in Kindergarten?"

Bo stared at his daughter, at a loss for words. He remembered explaining the basics of where the girl's mother was, and it seemed like she understood. It wasn't often when Lois asked questions about these random bits of trivia regarding Michelle's life, and when she did, it always caught Bo off guard.

So he nodded. "Yup, that's what she did. She rubbed glue in my hair. So lemme tell ya, sweetheart, it weren't fun. So if I ever hear of you doin' somethin' like 'at, yer gonna be in big trouble, okay?"

"Okay, Daddy," Lois answered. Bo smiled at her and rubbed a hand through her blonde hair. The past five years since Lois was born, Bo and the others had marveled at how much she looked like Michelle, except for the hair. She still had the same incredibly blonde hair that had been inheirited from Bo.

----------------------------------------------------

Bo pulled his uncle's pickup to a stop in front of the school. He smiled at his daughter. "I'm goin' in with ya taday ta make sure yer alright, okay?" Lois nodded, anxiety etched over the small features of her face. "Come on, let's go now an' get this over with."

Each of them opened their respective doors and stepped out into the brisk autumn air. Bo, after pulling Lois's new Minnie Mouse backpack around her shoulders, grabbed her hand and together, they made the voyage up the steps through the school's front entrance. It took the father a minute to remember which direction the Kindergarten classroom was in, but he finally figured it out.

Bo knocked on the doorframe, catching the attention of the young-ish woman inside. Bo figured she was about the same age as himself.

"Hi!" the woman greeted cheerfully. "I'm Miss Kurtcher." She extended her hand out to Bo.

"I thought I knew everybody in Hazzard," Bo commented.

Miss Kurtcher smiled. "I just moved here last week. This is my first year in Hazzard. Before I taught first grade in Atlanta."

Bo nodded. "Well, welcome ta Hazzard County, ma'am. This here's Lois Duke; she'll be in your class. I'm her daddy, Bo Duke."

Miss Kurtcher nodded and looked down at Lois. "Well, Lois, we're going to have a lot of fun this year! Why don't you go see some of the other kids over there? I'm sure they'll be happy to meet you."

Lois nodded shyly and slowly meandered over to where some other kids were playing with wooded blocks. Bo exchanged a few more friendly words with Miss Kurtcher before deciding it was time to leave his daughter at school for the first time. He went to go find Lois, who now seemed to be thoroughly enjoying herself.

"Hey, Lois, give daddy a kiss," Bo said. Lois turned around, leaned upwards to plant a kiss on her fathers cheek and without a word, went back to playing with her new friends. Bo just stood there for a moment, not knowing quite what to say. Finally, he opened his mouth. "Well, bye Lois, I'll be back in a couple hours. Bye honey."

"'Kay, bye Daddy," Lois said, without turning around. Dejectedly, Bo turned around and walked out of the classroom.

----------------------------------------------------

A few hours later, Hazzard Elementary's morning Kindergarten session let out. Bo was among quite a few parents who were there to pick up their children. Looking around, Bo recognized most of the couples there. He had gone to school himself with a few of them, others were a few years older, and some were younger. The one thing Bo noticed that he never had before was that he was the only single parent in attendance. Lois was the only kid in her whole class who didn't have a mommy and a daddy.

That was quite rare, though, as Bo thought about it. Usually at least a couple kids had deceased parents, or parents who didn't live together. Technically, Bo never really had a mommy or a daddy. But he considered his uncle Jesse and his late aunt Martha to be like his parents, and they had both been there to pick him up on his first day of school. This time, however, Bo was the only parent there without a signifigant other. If things had gone as Bo thought they should have, Lois would have a mother there, too.

Apparently, Bo was not the only one to notice this oddity. He was snapped out of his train of thought by the sound of two small people yelling at each other. Unable to make out what they were saying, he jerked his head in their direction, only to find his daughter was yelling something at Jason Martex. Bo suppressed a grin as he watched his daughter blast the kid's eardrums out. Normally, a parent would have gone over there and broken it up, but Bo held a long time grudge with Jason's father, Brad. Brad had been a nice kid to most people, but for some reason, the boy had loved to pick on one Bo Duke. Of course, he once received quite a beating from Luke, but Bo never forgave Brad for that.

But then Bo realized Lois and himself would be liable to get in trouble if he didn't do something. As he walked over there, he looked up to see the six-feet-eight Brad Martex looming over him. He smiled sheepishly, and Brad fed him a look that could probably kill a rattlesnake. Bo gulped and grabbed his daughter by the hook on top of her backpack. He pulled her back to the General Lee and lifted her up and set her inside. Brad was slowly walking in their direction, so Bo wasted no time in running to the driver's side, getting in, and speeding off.

"Mind tellin' me what that was all about?" Bo asked of his daughter. Receiving no answer, he looked over at her and for the first time, noticed the tears streaming down her face. He sighed. "Honey, what's wrong. You can tell Daddy."

"Jason kept makin' fun of me cause I don't got a mommy," Lois said quietly. "He did it all day, and Miss Kurtcher didn't even give him a time-out."

Bo sighed inwardly. He couldn't think of the right thing to say. These were the times when Bo missed Michelle the most. He knew the Martexes had always been mean to the Dukes, Brad had done it to him, now Brad's son was doing it to Bo's daughter. Brad had made fun of Bo for having no parents and now Jason was making fun of Lois for having no mother.

"Well, sweetheart, don't let Jason get to ya," was all Bo could say. "He's just a bully, an' that's what bullies do. They try ta make ya cry. If you don't show that it bothers ya; if ya just ignore him, he should stop. If he don't, tell me an' I'll have a word with his parents." The last part was rather forced out, considering he didn't ever want to have to speak with Brad Martex.

----------------------------------------------------

The next day ended even worse. When Bo arrived to pick up his daughter, she was crying yet again, telling him all about how Jason had told her she wasn't going to grow up to be a normal girl because she didn't have a mother.

"Daddy, is that true?" Lois asked with pleading eyes that tore through Bo's heart like a knife.

All Bo could do was shake his head. "Naw, sweetheart, that ain't true at all." That's what he said, but on some deep level, he wondered if maybe the boy had been right without meaning to. He wasn't even sure what to do in this case, and that really didn't make him feel good about himself, either. All he knew is that he might have to make good on his promise to Lois about speaking with Brad Martex, something he dreaded.

Once they arrived back at the Duke Farm, Lois saw her cousin Charlie playing out under the old oak tree and ran to join him. Bo gave a small smile before heading inside. Daisy and Enos were talking in the kitchen with Jesse, all looking glum. He furrowed his brow and waved at them all before heading to his area of the house via the living room. Jamie and Luke sat on the couch, and Jamie had tears streaming down her face. Luke saw his cousin standing there confused and looked up at him, his own eyes conveying deep sadness.

Bo decided to leave them alone and went back into the kitchen. "What happened?" he asked..

Daisy looked at her younger cousin sadly. "Jamie miscarried," she told him.

----------------------------------------------------

Sorry guys, that's all you get for now. Please review!


	13. Pain in Every Sense of the Word

Hey people, I decided to have a semi-speedy update. So here's the chapter, and I hope you liked it. It was easy to write for once; I wrote most of it in less than two hours.

**Chapter 13: Pain in Every Sense of the Word  
**

Bo's eyes widened at the stunning news Daisy told him. "Jamie miscarried?" he asked softly. Daisy, Jesse, and Enos all nodded solemnly. "Wow." The three nodded again. Suddenly, Lois and Charlie came tearing through the house, screaming like banshees. The fathers of the two children stood up and grabbed them and took them outside, Daisy and Jesse close behind.

"How come we can't go inside?" Lois asked her dad. "And why does everybody look real sad?"

"Real sad," Charlie echoed.

"We'll talk about that later," Daisy said. "So Lois, did you have a good day at school?"

"No, but it don't matter cause I'm never goin' back," the girl answered.

Bo furrowed his brow. "When did you decide this?" he asked.

"Taday," said Lois. "Jason's real mean. I don't want him ta say mean things ta me no more so I ain't goin' ta school anymore."

"Lois, honey, ya can't just run away from yer problems," Bo told her.

"You did." Bo looked at his daughter, confused, so Lois continued. "Yesterday when that real big man was gonna hit you ya took me an' ran an' drove away fast."

Bo looked around at everyone, trying to find a suitable answer. Finding none, he said, "Lois, yer absolutely right. I did run away. But we's gonna stop that right now. We're gonna go ta Jason's house an' make 'em apologize." He took ahold of Lois's hand and led her to the General Lee.

Jesse stopped them. "Now wait, Bo, I'm goin' with ya ta make sure ya don't do nothin' stupid." Bo slowed down and the three of them got in the car.

The Martex homestead was about twenty miles away. Bo got them there in ten minutes, never once being chased by the local law enforcements. Jesse waited in the General, and after Bo crawled out of the driver's seat, he pulled Lois through the backseat. They made their way to the front door of the farmhouse at a leisurely pace. Bo knocked steadily on the door, and after a few minutes, Brad Martex opened the door, with Jason standing meanly next to him.

"Good afternoon, Duke," Brad said, smirking down at his nemasis.

Bo looked up at Brad and said, "Martex."

Just then, years of flashbacks of being beat up by this guy who was taller than anyone in Hazzard. Bo was usually considered tall, but Brad was a good four or five inches taller. Bo could feel sweat welling up in his palms, and he clenched his fists. His mind went completely blank. He couldn't remember why he was there until he looked down at Lois, who was now tugging on his shirt. He caught his bearings and began to speak once more.

"I believe your son owes my daughter an apology," he said, his voice strong.

"Whatever for?" Brad asked sweetly. "My son didn't do anything wrong. It was your daughter who keeps calling him rude names. She should be the one doin' any apologizin'."

"Actually, your son was insultin' my parenting," Bo said, matter-of-factly. "He told my daughter she wouldn't be normal cause she don't got no mom."

Brad smiled. "Ain't there freedom of speech in this country?"

Bo sighed. "Look Martex," he began, his face flushed red with anger. "I don't know what problem you have with my family but I ain't gonna take no more of this. You tell yer son ta leave my daughter alone if ya know what's good for 'im . . . an' you."

"Yeah!" Lois said, before ducking behind her dad. Jason glared at her.

"Duke, I got somethin' ta show ya," Brad said.

Brad's fist was the last thing Bo saw before the lights went out in Georgia.

-----------------------------------------------------

The first thing Bo noticed was the bright light shining in his eyes, causing him to moan. The next thing Bo noticed was the dull pounding in his head. He opened his eyes once more, where Daisy was standing over him, grinning.

"Hey cousin, welcome back," she said.

Bo groaned and slowly, with the help of Daisy, sat up. Looking around, he found himself on the couch in his section of the house. The last thing he remembered was talking with Brad Martex, but after that, there was nothing.

"What happened?" Bo asked.

Jesse, who was sitting in a chair nearby, answered. "That Martex fella hit ya pretty good. Ya passed out right away. He just shut the door right in Lois's face, leavin' her right there next to ya on the front steps. I got outta the General Lee an' gotcha an' laid ya down in the backseat with Lois right behind me. We got in and drove home an' Luke helped me getcha on that couch. That's a pretty nasty shiner ya got there."

"When ya started stirin' I sent Jamie ta get ya some ice," Daisy said. "She's done a real nice job handlin' Lois this whole time. Ya've been out fer a couple hours, an' Jamie did a real good job makin' her feel better. She was pretty upset about the whole thing."

Jamie came back in with a baggie full of ice. "Here Bo, that looks like it hurts somethin' fierce," she said softly. She handed him the ice and he stuck it right on his right eye.

"Yeah it does," Bo admitted. "Can barely see outta that eye. Where's Luke?"

"He an' Enos took Lois out fer some ice cream," Jamie answered. "They thought it might cheer 'er up. If it works, maybe I'll have 'em take _me_ out fer some ice cream."

Bo gave his cousin-in-law a small smile."Yeah, I heard about yer baby, an' I was real sorry ta hear that." He winced as the pressure from the ice sent more pain through his head.

"Thanks," Jamie said. She didn't say anything after that, instead, she left the room and went back to the main section of the house.

"Here, Bo, lemme take a look at yer eye," Daisy said. Slowly, Bo pulled the ice pack off his eye. Daisy grimaced. "Uncle Jesse's right. That is a pretty nasty one there."

He attempted to pull his eye open, but it hurt too bad, so he gave up. By now the pounding in his head had gotten so bad, he could barely think through it. Instead, he lay back down and Daisy replaced the ice pack on it. He closed his eyes and allowed himself to fall into a deep sleep.

-----------------------------------------------------

The next time Bo awoke, he was staring into the face of his daughter who was sitting with her legs straddled across him. He smiled at her. "Hey honey," he greeted.

"Daddy, you got the worst black eye I've ever seen," Lois commented. Bo couldn't help but smile wider at his daughter's innocence. "It looks like it hurts worse than that time last year when I hit my elbow on Charlie's head."

Bo laughed, and he heard Luke's laugh from behind him. He looked over to see his older cousin sitting in the chair reading a car magazine. He turned back to Lois. "Yeah, it hurts a little bit," he told her.

"Can I touch it?" Lois asked, sticking her finger out towards Bo's eye.

"Uh, sorry honey, that'd make it hurt worse," Bo answered. "Did you have fun gettin' ice cream with Luke 'n' Enos?"

"Yeah," Lois said nodding. "I got a really big ice cream cone. It was oreo ice cream. It was _huge_, huh, Luke?"

Luke smiled, almost sadly, Bo noted. "Yeah, it was very big, Lois," he told her. "I ain't sure how ya ate the whole thing by yerself."

"I'm like Daddy," Lois answered. "I got a real big tummy." Luke let out a hearty laugh, but Bo smiled.

"Yeah, yer dad can sure eat a lot," Luke joked. "Hey why don't you go help Jamie and Daisy with dinner?"

"Okay!" Lois said eagerly. She hopped off her father's lap and ran out of the room towards the kitchen.

Luke moved to sit down on the couch next to Bo. "How ya doin', cousin?" he asked.

Bo smiled again. "I got a headache, but it'll pass. The only thing that's really busted is my pride. I've been beat up by that guy more times than I care ta remember, but never as an adult before."

"Want me ta go down there an' beat 'im up fer ya again?" Luke quipped, grinning.

Bo's eyes widened. "I don't think you could take 'im on either. I didn't have a chance an' I'm bigger 'n' you are now. Back then it was different cause ya were bigger than him. But he grew. Ya ain't gotta prayer either!"

"Me? Not have a prayer?" Luke scoffed. "Remember who yer talkin' to, little cuz."

"Right," Bo said. "Well now that we got me outta the way, how're you doin'?"

Luke sighed and looked down on his hands. "I've been better," he admitted. "I never saw this comin', Bo. I thought we was doin' everythin' right. Guess I was wrong, huh?"

"Now Luke, if there's one thing I've learned with Lois bein' born it's that these things ain't necessarily yer fault," Bo told him. "Believe me, I lost someone ta that pregnancy, too. But it ain't somethin' I did or didn't do. It just happened that way. I don't know why, an' I ain't happy with it neither, but I didn't do anything to make it happen. So that baby that you don't got no more, that ain't yer fault neither."

"Yer right, Bo," Luke said. "This is kinda backwards, ain't it? Usually I'm the one makin' you feel better, but now yer makin' me feel better. What happened?"

"I guess I growed up, Luke," Bo pointed out. Luke just shrugged, and Bo threw an arm around his shoulders.

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And that's all for now. Please review, and if you do, I'll update . . .


	14. Assualt and Battery

Holy crap guys, next time this happens, gun me down or something. How did I let two months go without updating this? Yes this chapter was incredibly hard to write but it should've only taken me one month at the most. Not two. I hope ya'll stick with me anyway and forgive me for my absence. Please review even if it's just cause you're really mad at me and you want to chew me out. I hope you like this chapter, and I don't blame anyone who wants to read the previous chapter because they forgot what's going on . . .

**Chapter 14: Assault and Battery  
**

The next morning was Wednesday, the half-way in an already long week for the Duke family. Bo quickly noticed that his excrutiating headache he went to bed with the previous night had been reduced to a dull throb. After making sure Lois was awake, he sleepily plodded into the kitchen, where Jesse sat reading the paper and Jamie stood at the counter, cooking. Luke came in from outside a few seconds later. He grinned upon seeing his younger cousin.

"Hey Bo, yer just the guy I wanted ta see," said Luke. "After you conked out last night, Enos an' me came up with a plan. Once ya git Lois ta school, we're gonna have some fun."

Bo raised an eyebrow at the dark-haired man. "Okay, I can't wait ta hear whatcha got up yer sleeve this time."

Once Lois came out, dressed and ready for school, the family sat down for breakfast. There was no discussion about the "plan" during the meal, so Bo figured it might not be suitable for his young daughter to hear. So after breakfast, he quickly ran his daughter to school and rushed home, where Luke was waiting. Enos, Daisy, and Charlie had come, too.

"All right, come on, Enos, let's go," Luke said as he noticed his cousin pull the General up the drive. "We'll take yer car an' make it official." Once Bo hopped out of the General, question etched on his face, Luke led him to Enos's car. "Come on, Bo, we'll explain our plan on the way. This should git the Martexes off yer back fer good."

--------------------------------------

Bo knocked soundly on the door, Enos and Luke on either side of him. He stood proudly, black eye and all, waiting for Brad Martex to answer his knock. Luke clapped a hand reassuringly on Bo's shoulder. "Just let Enos do the talkin' fer a minute."

A few seconds later, the door swung open and out stormed Mr. Martex. He glared down at Bo, who bravely glared right back up.

Enos cleared his throat nervously. "Uh, Mr. Martex, I need ta speak with ya 'bout some official police business. Mind if we come inside?"

"We can talk just fine out here," Brad growled. "What do ya'll want?"

Enos took a shaky sigh. "Now, uh, I gotta couple a witnesses who'd be willin' ta testify fer assualt an' battery against ya from yesterday afternoon at about 1:30 or so against Bo here."

"Mm-hmm," Brad said. "Ya mean a little five-year-old girl who don't even know what assault an' battery means?"

"My Uncle Jesse was watchin' too," Bo cut in. "He was waitin' for us out in the car. He was the one who drug my hide back home after the aforementioned assault an' battery."

Luke pulled a piece of paper from his shirt pocket. "Now Bo here will be willin' ta drop the charges against ya if ya sign this nice legal agreement sayin' that neither you or yer family will go near Dukes again. An' if ya do, we'll find out about it, an' you'll be behind bars faster than you can say 'Okeefenokee.' Either sign this now, or go to jail. Choice is yers."

Brad sneered greatly at the three other men. Finally, he snatched the paper from Luke and asked for a pen. Enos gladly handed him one, and Brad signed the paper.

"Thanks, Martex!" Bo called as they walked away from the porch. "That's greatly appreciated!"

"Lousy son of a bitch," Martex muttered.

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After picking Lois up from school, Bo heard about further torture from Jason. He smiled though, as he informed Lois that Jason would be in big trouble if he did it again. His grin widened when Lois smiled at the news.

Once Lois was at home and under the care of Jesse, Bo took a walk. Before he knew where he was going, he ended up at the Duke cemetery, where every Duke since the beginning of Hazzard County had been buried, including Michelle. Bo sat down in front of her tombstone.

"Ya know, this week would have been a lot easier if ya'd been here," he said. "I still really miss ya, Shelly. Ya know that, don't ya?" Tears were beginning to well up in his eyes. "I love ya. I always will love ya."

Bo remained in his place for a few more moments letting the tears fall before he finally muttered a goodbye and turned away. He slowly trudged home, his mind heavy with thought. Once he made it inside, he looked in the kitchen and found Jamie and Luke drinking coffee together and talking. Luke looked up at his younger cousin and instantly knew where the blonde had been.

Luke stood up, smiling sadly at his cousin. He wrapped an arm around Bo and brought a hand across his tear-stained cheek. "I'll be right back, Jamie."

Jamie nodded. Luke led Bo outside where they sat down on the porch. "Hey buddy, things is okay. I know ya miss her. But she's still with ya, remember that."

Bo sniffed. "I know. It's been five years, but that don't mean it don't hurt no less. Not when ya love 'em. An' boy did I really love her. I think about her everytime I look at Lois. That kid may got my hair, but she also got everything else of Shelly's."

"I unnerstand, Bo. I know ya love her, still. But it's okay. Ya still got a family an' a daughter that really love ya, Bo. Just remember that."

"Thanks, Luke, " Bo said. "You remember that too. I know things ain't easy fer you either. Are ya'll gonna try again?"

"That's what we was talkin' about," Luke said. "I think we're gonna, pretty soon."

The two cousins sat talking for a long time, before Jamie called them in for dinner. The five residents of the house clamored to the table and they ate dinner, lively with chatter. Things once again seemed to be okay at the Duke farm.


	15. Doin' It All Over Again

**Chapter 15: Doin' it All Over Again**

Well there's nothing like curling up on the couch with your father's laptop on an incredibly rainy day on vacation in the Seattle area and writing a nice, depressing chapter of your story. This one is probably the saddest thing I've ever written, so I'm posting a major tissue warning here. Enjoy, and don't forget to give me feedback because my brain gets easily hungry for that kind of stuff.

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Two more years later, Lois was still a bubbly child. Now at the age of seven, she got into even more trouble than before. Sometimes she used her now four-year-old cousin Charlie as a partner in crime. Also, Luke and Jamie, after several months of anxiety over the topic, had gotten pregnant once more. Lois and Charlie now had a year old male cousin called Ryan. Still, Jamie and Luke used the room that he once shared with Bo, and now Ryan had taken over Daisy's old room. Uncle Jesse was still alive and kicking. Daisy and Enos were pregnant again.

However, Hazzard County had endured a massive change the year before when J.D. Hogg had met his reward up in the barber chair up above. He pushed up the daisies after suffering from a major heart attack. None of the townsfolk had been surprised, however, considering the man's diet. Lulu had never been the same, and now she moved back in with Rosco and their momma, who was also showing no signs of slowing down. Rosco had been made County Commissioner after Boss's death, and he promoted Enos to sheriff. Cletus was still just a dipstick deputy, but he was okay with that.

Now it was the beginning of 1993. Things were going pretty well for the Dukes. Bo had gotten a paying job with Cooter, as did Luke. Daisy still worked at the Boar's Nest, which was now a better paying job since it was owned jointly by Lulu and Rosco.

The first morning after Christmas break that Lois was to return to school, all sat down to eat a peaceful breakfast. It didn't stay that way long, however, when Luke noticed that someone was not at the table.

"Bo, where's Uncle Jesse?" he asked.

Bo looked around the table before shaking his head. "I don't know, Luke. It ain't like 'im ta be late fer breakfast, cause he's the one who says grace!"

"I sure hope he's okay," Luke commented, scooting his chair back and getting up. "I'll be right back." Anxiously, he exited the kitchen in search of his uncle.

The first place he looked was in Jesse's bedroom. Jesse wasn't there, so he moved on to the bathroom. Again, the Duke patriarch was not present. Now, Luke was slightly less nervous, considering sometimes that cow, almost as stubborn as Maudine, just didn't want to give milk that easily. Maybe she was giving Uncle Jesse trouble and he was out there now teaching her a lesson.

Passing by the kitchen again, Luke grinned, telling the younger members of the family he was going out to help Jesse with the cow. Slowly, he stalked towards the barn, but he quickly grew suspicious when he didn't hear any noise coming from the barn except for some bleating from the cow. As he entered, he saw a puddle of white liquid near her. He didn't see Jesse. He moved around her, stifling a scream at what he saw.

Jesse lay unmoving on the floor. Luke's initial thought was that the cow had given them more reason the just make some hamburger out of it. The dang thing must have kicked Jesse! But after looking his uncle over, Luke saw no marks indicating a cow attack. Then Jesse, now only half-conscious, began to speak.

"Luke..." he croaked. "Ya do me a favor...you take care o' yer cousins fer me." Before Luke had a chance to answer, Jesse's eyes shut, never to open again. The younger man sat there, tears sporting in his blue eyes, holding his now deceased uncle.

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"I guess it was a heart attack," Luke explained dryly to his cousins. "Leastways that's what the coroners said."

Bo sniffed to hold back more tears. "I don't understand how this happened, Luke. Wasn't Uncle Jesse just fine yesterday? Did ya'll think there was somethin' wrong with 'im?"

Daisy wasn't bothering to keep her sobs to herself. She knew her efforts would prove futile. "No! There weren't nothin' wrong with him! He was fine! I don't get it either, Bo." She allowed Luke to embrace her in a hug.

"I know how ya feel, sweetheart," he answered comfortingly. "We knew this would happen someday. He was gettin' old. It was just his time."

No matter how much he tried not to show it, Luke was just as torn up inside as his younger cousins. Yet no matter how much this was true, he was attempting to stay strong for them, and the children, too. Mostly, he was worried about Bo, who was always emotional during these types of situations, such as when their Aunt Martha had died, and Michelle. He was always open with his feelings, and everybody knew it. This time, however, Bo was quiet and reserved, and this concerned Luke.

"Now what do we do?" Bo asked dejectedly.

"I guess we'll have a wake this weekend," Luke said. "I know Uncle Jesse'd want that. An' then on Sunday we'll have a funeral. After a regular church service, of course."

It made the three cousins sick to their stomach, making such plans for Jesse. Eventually, however, they got plans made and family on the way. Coy, Vance, Jeb, and Jud were all due to arrive in Hazzard the next day, which was Wednesday. The wake would take place Thursday, Friday, and Saturday and they'd lay Jesse Duke to rest on the Sabbath day.

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"Daddy?" came Lois's voice, startling Bo from his daze. "Is Uncle Jesse an' Mommy in the same place?"

"Well, Lois," Bo started, lifting his daughter to sit on his lap. "I am pretty sure they are tagether, an' they's up in the sky with God an' Jesus." He tried not to let himself cry in front of Lois.

She, however, began to cry heavily. "Daddy, I miss Uncle Jesse!"

"I do too, baby, I do too," Bo said, kissing the top of her head.

In the doorway, Luke stood watching his younger cousin. He now understood Bo's stifled emotions. The younger man had a daughter to take care of, one who was old enough to understand what was going on. But still, how long would it be before the most emotional Duke cousin couldn't hold it in anymore? That was the question that weighed heavily on Luke's mind.

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Well, I could keep writing, but if I do, I'll make it part of the next chapter. Five days is better than two months, right? If you guys are lucky, you'll get the next chapter hopefully just as soon. So now I've decided to end this chapter here, so you can get a tissue refill before the next chapter. Click the little pale blue or pale purple (depending on your internet provider, I guess) that is telling you what I want you to do and that's to submit reviews.


	16. Bittersweet Memories

Man you guys are lucky I live in a snow community or this would not have happened for at least another week. Our school was canceled for too much snow so I spent my day cozy inside writing this. I hope ya'll out there like it. Please review at the end.

**Chapter 16: Bittersweet Memories  
**

Bo felt like a zombie for the duration of the next couple days. He hadn't cried yet; there was just too much going on for that. He had to help with the wake, planning the funeral, taking care of his daughter, and half the time he ended up taking care of Charlie and sometimes Ryan, too. Jamie helped him a lot, but Bo felt like he was going to pop. He knew the time would come, but he didn't know when.

Luke had asked Jeb, who Bo was closest to outside of Luke and Daisy, to watch over the youngest Duke cousin while he took care of other things. Jeb gladly took over the responsibility. He and Bo had gone to school together until he and his parents moved away from Hazzard for awhile going into the fifth grade. In fact, Jesse and Lavinia had sent Bo to school a year early so he could be with one of his cousins. So Jeb understood the youngest Duke cousin (of that generation) pretty well himself. He only hoped he would see warning signs of Bo's inevitable breakdown.

The day of the funeral came so fast it nearly made the Dukes' heads spin, literally. And with it came heartache. The three Duke cousins who had lived with Jesse for practically their whole lives had delivered beautiful yet short eulogies. Jesse would be sorely missed among the entire community, and that didn't make things any easier.

Once it was over, all the Duke cousins and respective children and signifigant others went back to the Duke Farm for some reminiscing. Bo curled up on the couch with a sleeping Lois perched in his lap. Luke sat on one side of his youngest cousin, an arm swung around the blonde. Jeb was on Bo's other side. Daisy faced her cousins on the floor, Enos next to her. Charlie lay down with his head in his father's lap. Jamie cradled Ryan next to Daisy. Coy and Vance sat in chairs behind them.

Daisy pulled out some old photo albums, ones that included at least a few pictures of everybody. Hours passed while they flipped through the age-worn pages. Some memories made them laugh, some cry. However, Jeb and Luke were quick to notice their usually bouncy cousin was abnormally quiet. Bo sat there, cradling his daughter as close as he could, staring down at the book that held many memories.

"Oh, I remember this," Daisy announced, a teary grin on her face. She pulled a picture out of the clear plastic covering. It showed four young, happy children outside in some woods. Five-year-old Bo snuggled on the lap of his uncle Jesse. Ten-year-old Luke had his arms around an eight-year-old Daisy and a six-year-old Jeb. All five of the picture's occupant wore wide smiles. "Remember, we went campin' that summer in them woods up there near the back forty?"

Luke nodded, smiling. "Yeah, I remember Uncle Jesse spent a really long time trying to figure out how ta turn on the self-timer on that new camera. Can ya'll believe that was almost thirty years ago? About twenty-eight I think. Bo didn't you lose a tooth or somethin' that night?"

Bo still made no movement; instead he just sat there as he had been, listening with the same scowl on his face.

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_Bo grinned with pleasure as he watched his uncle pull out the tin of cookies that Aunt Martha had sent with them. He started to reach for them when Jesse pushed him back, warning him not to grab them, or the little boy wouldn't get any. Bo sat there pouting for a few seconds before he noticed his older cousin Luke receiving a few of his own cookies. His were not far behind, although he was awarded his last. _

_Biting into his cookie, Bo quickly realized there was a strange taste to it. That perplexed him as much as the one chocolate chip that seemed extra hard. He wondered for a moment if Aunt Martha had lost her touch with chocolate chip cookies. That was, until Jesse noticed the strange look on his youngest's face. _

_"What's the matter, sprout?" Jesse asked the young boy. _

_"Somethin' ain't right 'bout this cookie," Bo told him through a mouthful of cookie. "It tastes funny. Tastes like blood. An' there's somethin' real crunchy in there."_

_"Open yer mouth up there, Bo," Jesse ordered. Bo obeyed, pulling his mouth wide open. He earned a chorus of disgusted mutterings from his cousins. Jesse couldn't help but smile himself. "Looks like there ain't nuthin' wrong with the cookie, Bo. I think ya finally lost that tooth that ya's been wigglin' 'round fer while."_

_"I did?" Bo wondered excitedly. When Jesse nodded the affirmative, Bo reached in his mouth and pulled the crunchy thing out. Sure enough, it was small and white. It was one of his lower front teeth, the first baby tooth to fall out of the blonde's mouth._

_Jesse got some water for Bo to rinse out his mouth. Afterwards Jesse wanted to take a picture of them all. After a few minutes fumbling around with the old camera, he figured out how to set on the self-timer. Quickly, he got himself and the kids situated in their poses. Now, Bo had an empty space in his mouth on the bottom._

_Later, Bo tugged on the coat sleeve of his uncle. "Unca Jesse? Is the Tooth Fairy gonna know I'm out here an' not at home?" _

_Jesse nodded. "She sure will, sprout," he answered. "The Tooth Fairy's kinda like Santa Claus. She always knows where every child is. Only difference is, the Tooth Fairy works every night, but Santa only works one night a year."_

_"Oh. Okay!" Bo grinned. _

_"Now you best git on ta bed, sprout," Jesse suggested. He earned a nod from his youngest and another smile. Bo's smile was contagious, and Jesse had to grin himself. _

_"Love ya, Uncle Jesse!" Bo exclaimed, throwing his arms around the neck of the only father he had ever known. _

_Jesse returned the hug. "I love ya too, Bo." He even planted a kiss inside Bo's curly mop of hair. _

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Bo couldn't take it anymore. He stood up, still clutching his sleeping daughter. "I gotta go put Lois ta bed," he said quickly, leaving no room for questions. He stormed off towards Lois's room.

"I'll take care of it," Luke told his cousins. "You guys just stay here." He stood up and followed his cousin. Once he reached Lois's bedroom, he waited a few moments and just watched his youngest cousin tuck his daughter into bed. Afterwards, Bo just sat down in a chair near Lois's bed. Tearfully, he watched the seven-year-old sleep. That's when Luke made his move. He pulled another chair up next to Bo and threw his arm around the younger man.

"You okay, Bo?" he asked. He knew the answer, but he asked anyways. So it was no surprise when Bo slowly shook his head, too choked up to speak. "Come here, buddy." Luke pulled Bo in for a hug. For a few minutes, Bo just buried his head into Luke's shoulder and sobbed. All the while, Luke muttered comforting words into the blonde's ear.

Once Bo cried out all he had, he let go of Luke and sat upright. "Luke," he began, faltering a moment. "Nuthin's ever gonna be the same without Uncle Jesse, is it?"

Luke's heart nearly broke in two at the pitiful look on his cousin's face. "Somethings will," he said. "I promise. Yeah, it will be a lot different without 'im here with us in the flesh, but remember, he's always gonna be with us in the other way, in here." He tapped Bo's chest with his fist. "He really loved ya Bo, always remember that."

Bo did nothing but nod his head. "I know, I know he loved us all. That's what made him so great. I'm really gonna miss 'im."

"I know," Luke said softly. "We all are. He was kinda like the glue that held us all tagether. But he was so good at it, that we're stuck tagether forever. Just remember, I'm always here for ya. I love ya, little cousin."

Bo smiled sadly. "I love ya too, Luke."

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That's all, people. I think it might have been slightly longer than the last chapter. However, I don't quite know where to go from here, so hopefully I'll figure it out soon. If not, I'm sorry in advance for the possible long wait. (Unless you have some type of idea for me:) I was thinking I should keep going with this particular section in their lives on dealing with the passing of Jesse, but I don't know where to go with that, but it doesn't seem quite done yet. Now if you want some extra love in your life you'll review. I thrive on those.


	17. New Beginnings

As some of you know, I am a proud Idahoan, and I was so extremely ecstatic about Boise State beating Oklahoma that I just felt like doing something for you nice people. Or my brain waves suddenly kicked in gear when I realized that nothing like that will ever happen to me. It's amazing how that works sometimes. Yeah, here I am beginning to write this six days after the game, and my dad is watching it for the third time. GO BRONCOS! And as for tonight goes, GO BUCKEYES!!!!!! If they win, the season will be perfect.

Note on the Martha/Lavinia conflict that seems to have been sparked around here. I think the writers just had a dumb moment and forgot what they named her so they came up with something else. No hidden meanings. It happens. So I just picked one. I picked whatever would be a good middle name for someone named Jessica Duke. Jessica Lavinia sounded better than Jessica Martha.

Note to HazzardHusker: Haha, this was written mostly on a day I had off school. But no, it wasn't because of a blizzard.

So I came up with something suitable, and if you want a hint for what's to come than let me just say special thanks to Sarah Kent-Duke for setting me up with half of the idea. I figured out how I'd get there, though. So read, and enjoy.

**Chapter 17: New Beginnings**

Six months later, it was just after Lois turned eight. Things had settled into a new routine at the Duke Farm. Bo and Luke now did half the work each, instead of the third they used to. Jesse was gone, but life had to go on for the rest of the Dukes. The children especially had worn their emotions on their sleeves, and the adults had calmed them as best they could. The passing of the Duke clan patriarch left a gaping hole in their hearts, but they patched them together as best they could.

Now, Lois was awaiting the beginning of third grade. It was an exceptionally hot July, it seemed. Never could the Dukes remember sweating like they did that year. It spelled bad news for the crops, as they weren't used to growing under such a hot sun. Bo and Luke knew it was going to be a bad year, and they tried to figure out some way to make extra money on the side. Bo suggested running shine, as it was Jesse who had made the deal with the government about their probation, not them. Besides, their probation sentence had been lifted long ago. Luke's rebuttal shot that down, saying they couldn't get on probation again if they got caught, they'd go straight to jail. Not to mention there was no way they could create a batch of shine half as good as their uncle's.

So there they were, back to square one. But the events of that July only made their situation worse.

01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01

Shoving his pitchfork into the ground, Bo sighed as he wiped the sweat off his brow. He pulled off his glove, at the same time he searched for his shirt. He then remembered he had thrown it back inside at lunch, knowing he wouldn't need it as long as he was out there. Realizing he was now finished with the task of mucking the stalls, he set off to seek out Luke. Bo found him tinkering with the old tractor.

"So there you are, sittin' around, tinkerin' with some ol' tractor, an' I'm doin' all the work?" Bo complained. "That don't seem fair."

Luke looked up, rolling his eyes at his cousin. "Okay, in that case, while I'm out in the fields, I let you go into town an' get some feed at Ruebottom's. Better?"

"Only if I get ta take the General," Bo negotiated.

"All right, take the General," Luke conceded.

An hour later, Bo had thrown the feed into the trunk, and was once again speeding down the backroads of Hazzard, enjoying himself. He couldn't remember going for such a carefree ride in a long time, especially since Lois was still a little kid. He saw a "Bridge Out" sign up ahead, but the blonde just sped right up. He dug the General's wheels into a makeshift ramp and went soaring through the sky. Bo let out his classic rebel yell in midair, just before landing. His head bobbled a little bit with the landing, and he kept going once more.

Down the road a ways, Bo came to an intersection. He didn't bother to stop, remembering ten years ago cruising around with Luke, when there were never any cars at the intersection of Old Mill Road and Cottontail Lane. But now, there was. Bo took too long a stroll down Memory Lane, which caused him to swerve into a tree in attempt to avoid hitting the car.

Bo's vision began to grow fuzzy after a few seconds and all he felt was a sharp pain in his left knee. He vaguely heard someone asking if he was all right, presumably the driver of the other car. Suddenly, he fell unconscious from the pain.

01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01

"Aw shit man, wake up," came the redundant cry from one Mr. Neil Baker. The young spiky-haired man prodded the blonde sitting in the most unusual orange car he'd ever seen. "Dude, you can't stay there forever, ya gotta wake up sometime. You know why? Cause I can feel your pulse. You ain't dead." No response. "Okay, good thing my sister's a nurse here. I think I'm a-gonna take you to the hospital here."

Neil was a college freshman at Georgia State University. As a New York native, he was easy to pick out of a crowd in Atlanta as not being from Georgia. All one had to do was hear him talk. He was down in Hazzard visiting his much older sister Mariah who was working as a nurse at Tri-County Hospital. For some reason unbeknownst to Neil, country life suited Mariah.

Doing the best he could for his small frame, Neil hoisted the older man out of the mangled Charger. He couldn't help but laugh at the sight of this well, unique vehicle. What interesting taste these country bumpkins had! The General Lee? It was truly insane to Neil.

Ten minutes later, Neil had a passenger in his simple blue Ford sedan. He sped quickly down the road, but careful not to further injure the other man. After a total of a half-hour, Neil had the man being wheeled away on a gurney by an orderly. Suddenly, Neil realized he had no idea who the man was who he had just helped. He had never looked for an ID of any kind.

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"Where is that blasted cousin o' mine?" an exasperated Luke asked Jamie. "I sent him out for that feed over two hours ago. He should have been home oh so long ago. If I find out he's out there having fun drivin' without me, I'm gonna - "

He was cut off by the sharp shrill of the telephone. Jamie reached over to answer, giving a polite greeting.

"Hello, Mrs. Duke, my name is Dr. Nolan Davis. I'm calling regarding a man brought in here, by the name of Bo Duke?"

Jamie's eyes went wide. "Y-yes, is he okay?"

"He was brought in by a young man who said Bo had swerved into a tree to avoid hitting him. We'd appreciate it if you could come down here to Tri-County as soon as you can."

"S-sure," Jamie stuttered. "We'll be right down. Thank you." She replaced the phone back on the receiver and turned towards her curious husband. "Luke, that was Tri-County Hospital. Looks like Bo's not here cause he was in an accident. They didn't say if he was okay, just that we have to get down there real soon."

Luke paled instantly at the news. He hopped up. "I'm going right now, would you take a separate car and get Daisy on yer way? Lois too, she's at Daisy's." Without waiting for a response, he hopped up from his place at the table and dashed out for Jesse's pickup, leaving Jamie's new, white minivan.

01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01

After having sat in the emergency room waiting room for nearly an hour, Luke was about ready to jump out of his skin. Thankfully, his wife helped keep him in check, but she also had Ryan to worry about, along with her own extremely pregnant belly. Daisy cradled her newborn daughter, Jessica Lavinia Duke (named after Uncle Jesse and Aunt Lavinia) on her lap Lois played with Charlie on the floor. Enos was out somewhere on patrol. Lois was not told a whole lot about what was going on with her daddy, all she knew was that he had a really bad boo-boo.

Eventually Dr. Davis came out. After asking for the Duke family, he sat down. "I don't want any of you to worry, Bo's going to be just fine." Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. "The only injury he sustained was some torn tendons in his left knee, which we easily patched up in surgery. Now, if you'd like to see him, that'd be fine, but we can't allow any infants in. Bo's just come out of the anesthesia and is still pretty groggy."

Of course, everyone was ready to see Bo. Jamie stayed out with Ryan, Charlie, and Jessie. Everyone else followed the doctor to Bo's room.


	18. A Stranger's Just a Friend Ya Ain't Met

There's no better time to write than when you're on vacation and supposed to be at a baseball game . . . but you're not because you came down with a 101.8 degree fever. So basically my misery is your pleasure . . . enjoy.

**Chapter 18: A Stranger's Just a Friend Ya Ain't Met Yet**

A cringe crept upon Bo's face as a blinding light met his eyes. He soon realized he was not anywhere he usually was - he wasn't in a car, he wasn't at home, he wasn't in town, nor was he at the Boar's Nest. With all those options, gone, Bo could not figure out where he was or why. All he could do was lay there until someone filled him in. He couldn't even think straight enough to try to figure out what this strange place was with the bright light. He was too tired to try to get up.

After an unknown amount of time, Bo heard the creaking of a nearby door. He turned his head, and could just barely make out the forms of a few people entering the room. After a few more seconds, he recognized the people as Luke, Daisy, his daughter, and some unfamiliar woman. Luke was first at his side, grabbing his hand and giving him an encouraging smile.

"Hey, buddy, how ya feelin'?" Luke asked.

"I'm tired," he heard himself respond. "An' I don't know what's goin' on."

Luke grinned. "Don't worry, Bo. Ya had a little accident in the General. Yer in the hospital, but you'll be fine."

"You sure will," Bo heard the unfamiliar woman say. Glancing up at her, Bo found himself attracted to her in ways he hadn't been attracted to anyone since Michelle. He wasn't sure if it was true attraction or if it was just the incessant amount of painkillers doping him up, but it seemed as if this nurse had a glowing aura about her that Bo couldn't look away from. She was positively beautiful to him.

"It just might be a little painful for awhile," she continued in her perfect New York accent. "Ya busted up your knee pretty good. But like he said," she nodded gracefully towards Luke, "you're gonna be absolutely fine. By the way, Bo, I'm Mariah Baker, I'll be your nurse while you're here."

All Bo could do was nod before his daughter took over the conversation.

"Daddy," she said, "does it hurt real bad?"

"To be honest, honey," he croaked out. "I don't feel anything at all. But I guess that's okay." He smiled at Lois, which granted him a smile from Mariah, which in turn made his smile grew.

"Okay, everybody, we need to leave Bo alone and let him sleep a little," Mariah ordered forcefully. "But I'm gonna let someone stay in here with him tanight, but ya better make sure he gets some rest." Bo's smile just stayed on his face at her controlling manner.

Luke stood in the doorway, recognizing that look on his cousin's face. He looked over at Daisy and knew that she noticed it too. Their little Bo had grown up...again. Their youngest cousin was in love...again. Then again, Bo was so doped up with painkillers, he probably didn't know whether he was coming or going. But still, he hadn't had that look on his face in eight years.

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The next time the glorious sun showed its face, everyone had gone home, except for Luke. He sat nearby in a chair, catching as much sleep as one could crammed up in such a position. As Dr. Davis came in that morning to check up on his patient, he noticed that the aforementioned patient's cousin was sleeping in an odd pose. He had to stop and scowl for a moment before checking up on the other sleeping man in the room.

Half an hour later, Luke was aroused from his slumber due to a soft moan from his youngest cousin. Glancing over to see what was the matter, Luke found a groggy Bo peering back at him. Luke grinned as Bo rubbed the eye boogers away.

"Feelin' a little better taday, cuz?" Luke inquired.

Bo nodded slowly. "Yeah. I do," he said. "Has that nurse come by lately?"

Luke shrugged. "I don't know. I just woke up myself. Why? Ya kinda like her?"

Bo smirked. "She was kinda cute, I don't know. I mean I don't know her. She's a stranger ta me."

"Well remember what Uncle Jesse always said 'bout strangers," Luke said. Bo joined in with the next part. "'A stranger's just a friend ya ain't met yet.'"

"That's true," Bo continued. "Well, in that case, I'd like ta git ta know her more. I don't know, there was just somethin' about her. It just hit me, in a way that I ain't felt for no one since Michelle. An' that was real special. But I don't know Luke, I mean I gotta daughter now, an' - "

"Yeah, ya do, Captain Obvious," Luke grinned. "But any woman who can't accept that ain't right fer ya. So ya know what, ya do what ya want 'bout this gal, an' we'll all be behind ya. But, fer now, let's focus on gettin' ya back on yer feet first."

"Oh yeah," Bo said, grinning. "They got me so drugged up I cain't even remember that I'm injured. Ain't that sad?"

"Maybe a little," Luke admitted. Before he could get another word out, the door opened. Enter Bo's dark-haired nurse, sporting a grin.

"Hey Bo," Mariah greeted cheerily. "How ya feelin' today? Get some good sleep?"

Bo nodded. "Sure did," he informed her. "Can ya tell me when I'm gettin' sprung from here?"

"It'll be a couple a days, honey," she told him. "Until then you're just gonna be stuck with us." She winked seductively at the patient, who wore a wide smile. She spent the next five minutes doing routine checks on Bo's vitals. "Get some rest, sweetheart."

"I sure will," Bo responded. "You take care, too."

"Sure thing, honey," Mariah told him, and out the door she went.

Luke, having witnessed the flirtatious moment between his cousin and the nurse, grinned at the younger man's new approach to obtaining a woman. Never before had any Duke boy been so passive with a woman - but Bo could just be too worn out to do anything better. In a week, Luke wondered, would Bo still possess the same viewpoint about Mariah he currently held?


	19. Oh Brother

Well, lemme try the excuses. I gotta job, I've gone out of town, I'm also working on a new story...one that I'm really trying to do my very best job, so I actually did an outline instead of making it a work in progress. I have first copies of the first five or so chapters, on a seventeen chapter story. It'll be a while before it's posted, but I just thought I'd make some excuses as to why this story and Jude Emery have all been neglected.

Something interesting happened the today that ya'll might be interested in. Our family owns a pet store, and that's where I work. Earlier today a mom came in with two little blonde children, a boy and a girl, and a cute little yellow lab puppy. The boy was about five or six, and I asked him, naturally, what his puppy's name was, and he said it was Cooter. I looked up at his mom, and she said that the kid watched Dukes of Hazzard a lot. My brother and I just laughed, yes, we watch it too. I would have never thought of naming a dog Cooter, though! But I guess it is a good name for a dog.

**Chapter 19: Oh, Brother  
**

Bo spent five more days in the hospital. On his last day there, he was still trying to figure out how the heck he was going to get the girl. He didn't do much in the hospital other than sit there and ponder this issue. This was difficult. He had to woo her more than some pretty little philly he'd meet at the Boar's Nest. She was special. She was a nurse, so she was probably a little smarter than all the other ones. What was a man to do?

Of course, Mariah was no fool. She saw every little dreamy look Bo Duke put on the moment she stepped into the room. She knew darn well that Bo was crushing on her. And she had to admit...there were moments where she could feel herself succumbing to his charm. Then she realized he was just a patient and it was never, ever good for a nurse to have any kind of romantic interest in a patient. However, Bo was not going to be a patient come morning...

That afternoon, Bo had a visitor that wasn't a Duke. Or a Davenport, or any of the extended Dukes. It was a young man that he thought looked familiar but didn't fully recognize. As soon as he came in the door, Bo tried to place him, but he just couldn't.

The man slowly walked in, almost cautiously. He smiled awkwardly. "Hi," he said. "I'm uh, not sure if you remember me. My name's Neil Baker. I was driving the car that you swerved to avoid the other day."

"Oh!" Bo realized who it was now. "So that's who you are. I knew you looked familiar."

"Yeah," said Neil. "Hey, listen, I'm sorry about the whole thing. I think it was just kind of a wrong place at the wrong time kinda deal, ya know?"

"Hey, you got nothin' to apologize for," Bo assured. "It was all my fault. I wasn't really payin' attention. Thanks, though."

"Eh, thank you," he rebuked. "By the way, I think my sister Mariah is a nurse on this floor. Do you know her? Cause I was lookin' for her."

It was as if the light bulb suddenly clicked on in Bo's brain, lighting it up immensely and making everything clear. "Mariah's yer sister?" Neil nodded. "Oh. Well, yeah, uh, she was in here about half an hour ago, but I don't know where she is now. She's probably pretty close by."

"Thanks," Neil said. "Well, I just wanted to stop by an' make sure you was doin' okay. I asked my sister, but she wouldn't tell me. Patient confidentiality or something weird like that. I don't know. I'm lucky she told me your name."

Bo chuckled. "Yeah, I guess hospitals are pretty strict about that stuff. An' thanks, for stoppin' by. I'm glad I almost crashed into such a nice person," he joked.

Neil grinned. "I'm just glad it was only _almost_. That could have been a pretty hairy accident. For you, too."

Bo nodded. "Yes, it could have. Ya don't quite bounce off of other cars like ya can a tree."

"Tell me about it," said Neil. "I've had a couple hairy accidents myself involving trees. My mom always tells me I should grow up."

"Ah, growing up's overrated," Bo said in a mock-fatherly tone. "Now, me, I'm thirty-three years old. I have no plans to grow up. That is precisely why I wasn't paying attention when you came along. I was too busy just enjoyin' my car, and driving that reckless way I have my whole life."

"Yeah, I remember your car," Neil told him. "It was pretty cool. You know, all those summers during high school I used to paint cars. I do a lot of muscle cars. People like to have all kinds of crazy things on their car. But I don't think I ever painted a Confederate flag on a bright orange car before."

Bo laughed. "Yeah, General Lee's pretty special. He's one-of-a-kind. Ya know, me an' my cousin Luke built his engine from scratch. Wow, that was a long time ago. I was seventeen when we did that."

"That's cool, man," Neil sighed. "I've always wanted to do something like that."

The two men continued to talk about cars and other things for a long time. They went on well after sun-down. The only reason they even called it quits was because Dr. Davis came in while making his rounds. Mariah happened to be the nurse on duty who came in with him. She looked a little surprised to see her little brother there, chatting away with her favorite patient. Then she remembered it was Neil who was there during Bo's accident and Neil who brought Bo to the hospital.

"Hey boys," she greeted. "Whatcha been talkin' about?"

"We've been plotting your worldy demise," Neil joked. "You know, how we're gonna take over your life and everything."

"Ha, ha, you're such a card." Mariah glared at Neil. "Ain't he hilarious, Bo?"

"No comment," Bo said, grinning. The smile never fell from his face, and his gaze never moved off Mariah for several moments as she moved about the room.

Neil stifled a snicker. The older man clearly had some strong feelings about his sister. It didn't creep him out or anything, no, just the opposite - he thought it was kind of cute. He glanced over at Mariah, who was doing something with Bo's IV. Looking at her eyes, she seemed to be in intense concentration in what she was doing. Taking in her face as a whole, Mariah wore an obvious smirk. She was definately privy to the look on his face. Then Neil looked up towards Dr. Davis. He was writing something on his charts, totally oblivious to the events happening right next to him. Neil shook his head in amusement of the whole scene.

"So, Bo," Mariah said, snapping Bo out of his reverie. "Guess you'll be goin' home tomorrow, huh?"

Bo nodded. "Yeah, I am." Bo's easy-to-read mind quickly came up with a plan of action. "Uh, hey Neil, maybe you'd like to come over an' help us get the General Lee back on his feet."

Neil couldn't suppress a grin. But Bo chalked it up to being excited about seeing such a car that he'd now heard so much about. "Well, sure, why not?"

"Great," Bo said. "Well, knowing Luke, he's going to confine me to my bed tomorrow. He is becomin' just like our Uncle Jesse that way. So, why don't you come over Wednesday, an' we can work on that car?

"That sounds like fun," Neil agreed. "I will be there, sometime in mid-morning. Thanks, Bo, it should be fun." He looked around at his sister who was staring expectantly at him. "Well, I should go. It's gettin' kinda late. Mariah's probably gonna kick me out."

"That's right," Mariah confirmed.

"Besides," said Neil. "I gotta date. Some girl I met in the parking lot when I came in. See ya Wednesday, Bo."

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"Ouch," Bo grumbled. He stopped and sucked the area on his middle finger that was now scraped raw. Then he put his hand back on the handle of the crutch and was off again, careful not to scrape his finger again on the wooden edge of the doorway as he crossed through. He continued on clumsily, taking care of his every step. Eventually he was in the kitchen and sat down at the table with the rest of his family. Daisy and Enos had come over, too.

"Mornin', sleepy head," Luke greeted, a little too cheerfully in Bo's opinion.

"Mornin', sunshine," Bo shot back sarcastically. He smirked at his older cousin.

"Hi, Daddy!" came a voice. Bo looked over at his daughter and smiled.

"Good morning, princess." This time, Bo made himself sound geniunely mirthful. And he always was happy to see Lois. "How'd ya sleep?"

"Good," Lois replied.

"All right, let's say Grace," Luke decided. The honor of saying Grace was bestowed upon him through Jesse's passing. Luke was clearly the most qualified for the role of Duke patriarch. It was a responsibility he had slid into easily.

He quickly said Grace and each member of the now large Duke family quickly dove into the wonderful meal before them. Even Bo, whose appetite had suffered a severe downfall as a result of the drugs administered to him in the hospital. Luke was pleased to see that his younger cousin seemed to be getting hungrier with each meal. Bo was the biggest eater of the family . . . or maybe even the whole county.

Bo had once eaten an entire medium-sized pizza by himself in under ten minutes. If he wasn't eating, then there was definately something amiss. But he seemed to be getting better, so Luke would stop worrying.

"So, you gonna teach that Neil-kid a thing or two about how we do things with our cars here in Hazzard County?" Luke asked his cousin.

Bo grinned. "Sure am. Neil's a cool kid an' all, but he don't know as much about cars as he thinks he does - yet. By the time I'm done with him, his head'll be fit to burst."

Luke smiled in return. "I'm sure. Ya know, I think maybe I'll join you two."

Bo nodded. "Yer welcome too. General Lee's yer car too. I can't wait till we can git 'im back on the road again." 

"Yeah, but I'll be doin' the drivin'," Luke pointed out. "Yer not drivin' till that knee o' yers is better, okay?"

"Yes, Mom," Bo said sarcasticallyand glumly.

Soon, breakfast was over, and by mid-morning, Bo, Luke, and Neil were out in the barn, tinkering away on the General Lee. Cooter had pounded out the dents, but left the engine work for the boys on Luke's request. Luke and Neil hit it off as fast as Bo and Neil had, and soon they were having a pretty good time. Bo had to take a break and sit down for awhile sometimes because his knee would get sore (as did his armpits from leaning on the crutches), but he'd stay nearby and the conversation would continue.

Everything was okay with their world. Bo and Luke hadn't worked together on a car in so long, and it felt good and refreshing. Now if only Bo could get his one last wish . . .

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Okay, thanks for reading. Uh, now please review and I'm sorry again for the wait!


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